Original of the Species 3: The Robots and the Saiyan: Adam
by Muad'zin
Summary: Multiple Crossover (mostly DBZ, SG-1, some Eddingsverse) Less then a year left till the coming of the Androids. Or is it….?
1. Prologue

**Original of the Species**

 **Part 3 The Robots and the Saiyan: Adam**

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Multiple Crossover (mostly DBZ, some SG-1, some Eddingsverse) Less then a year left till the coming of the Androids. Or is it….?

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Yes, he's still alive and kicking. And writing. Same reasons for the delay as before. Yada yada yada, real life busy, yada, writers block, yada, lazy ass bugger. But here it is. Finally! Sortish, I still have two chapters to finish. But some of you have been pestering me for updates, so here's a few to wet your appetite.

Alright. Part 3. Robots. Originally I wanted to do a big piece, like Part 2, about the events of BtVS season 4. But that took me a year and a half to finish. I didn't feel like rehashing BtVS scripts any more and I wanted to get cracking on the Cell games instead. Now, occasionally I chat or mail with fellow author Shadowmaster and he suggested doing a series of shorts and drabbles. But I'm just not a shorts kinda guy. Well, I am but not those kinda shorts. And I loath drabbles. But I could do a single multi-chapter story. Like Part 2A.

While I like to think my work gets better I go along and part 2B had some of my most favorite work to date, I still think part 2A is one of my best. Unlike parts 1 and 2B it's not a series of episodes but one continuous story. I like the tightness. So instead of posting another set of episodes spread over 16 months slaved over a smaller number of chapters and condense the most important developments into a single story. I even managed to do something that was driving me crazy and which scared away my beta, do shorter chapters. Mostly. ;)

Alright, time for the obligatory. Let us never forget the true Gods who came up with this stuff long before I did. All hail Whedon, Toriyama, the late David Eddings (You Da Man!), the lord of strange worlds Jack Vance. And the buggers who came up with Stargate who I'm just too lazy to Google. But you know who you are. I myself, I own nothing but the occasional original character and even that is inspired by their genius. Let us also all hail our corporate overlords and their legal minions and government lackeys, who will do nasty stuff to me if I make some money of this. Which I won't. I wish! It's all just for fun. Honest!

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Cue pretentious music, still sappy.

 **Be Yourself**

Audioslave - Out of Exile

Lyrics by Chris Cornell

 _Someone falls to pieces_

 _Sleepin all alone_

 _Someone kills the pain_

 _Spinning in the silence_

 _To finally drift away_

 _Someone gets excited_

 _In a chapel yard_

 _Catches a bouquet_

 _Another lays a dozen_

 _White roses on a grave_

 _To be yourself is all that you can do_

 _To be yourself is all that you can do_

 _Someone finds salvation in everyone_

 _And another only pain_

 _Someone tries to hide himself_

 _Down inside himself he prays_

 _Someone swears his true love_

 _Untill the end of time_

 _Another runs away_

 _Separate or united?_

 _Healthy or insane?_

 _To be yourself is all that you can do_

 _To be yourself is all that you can do_

 _To be yourself is all that you can do_

 _To be yourself is all that you can do_

Simple yet kickass solo by guitar god Tom Morello

 _And even when you've paid enough, been pulled apart or been held up_

 _With every single memory of the good or bad faces of luck_

 _don't lose any sleep tonight_

 _I'm sure everything will end up alright_

 _You may win or lose_

 _But to be yourself is all that you can do_

 _To be yourself is all that you can do_

 _To be yourself is all that you can do_

 _To be yourself is all that you can do_

 _To be yourself is all that you can do_

 _To be yourself is all that you can do_

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 **Prologue**

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A-Day minus 263

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"GOD DAMN BITCH!"

A voice yelled angrily through the cave.

"FUCK!"

The outcry was soon followed by a thud of an object being thrown against a wall.

Pain.

It soared through his nerves like a hot knife through butter. Like hot needles twisting around in his flesh. Which probably wasn't that far from reality to begin with. God did he hurt. Even as his nerves were playing a delightful symphony in the key of pain major he could feel his legs going numb. The pain be damned. He was in dire need of a neuro-surgeon

If he could only make it to the auto-doc he'd stand a good chance. Too bad the damn bitch saw to it that what should have been an easy walk to the next chamber was now the longest crawl in his life.

First he needed to turn over. Gritting his teeth he did what had to be done and rolled over.

"FUCK!" he yelled as searing pain soared through his body, "Goddamn bitch!"

He used his left hand to pound the floor in helpless frustration. It didn't reduce the pain for one iota. But at least it gave him a way to express some of his anger. Then he looked up. There it was. The likeness of HIM staring back at him. Like HE always did. It was all HIS fault. Didn't matter she had done it. The whole chain of events could always be traced back to HIM..

It was HIS fault

It was _always_ HIS fault.

He shouldn't have underestimated him. They should never have underestimated him. They should have killed HIM the moment they first set eyes on HIM. They had been confident. Arrogant even. Now he was the last one. But HE was still out there. HE had to be stopped. For the greater good.

Even now the likeness of his enemy looked down in him. Sporting his accursed smirk. Always the smirk. Oh how he longed to wipe that smirk of his face. But first he would have to get better. Reach the auto-doc before it was too late.

They say all great journeys begin with one step. In his case it would be one crawl. So he placed his good arm ahead and dragged himself forward.

"Fuck! Bitch!" he yelled as he again felt pain. Panting heavily he again glanced at the likeness of his enemy.

"I hate you!" he said through gritted teeth. Maybe it was the pain. Maybe it was just his imagination. Or maybe it was just his sanity giving way but he could swear his enemy's smirk grew even bigger.

"I…."

"Will…."

"Not…."

"Go…."

"Down…."

"Like…."

This…!"

With every utterance he moved himself closer to the other chamber. Towards the auto-doc. Using mostly his good arm, as the other one was mostly as useless as his legs. As he dragged himself forward he left behind him a trail of blood.

For he moment he stopped to catch his breath, laying there panting heavily.

"Not… like… this," he panted, "Not like this."

"You're going to die here," HIS voice said from the poster on the wall. That accursed voice. The one he would never forget.

"Shut up!" he panted back.

"Make me!" HIS voice said mockingly. He glanced upwards at the likeness of his enemy.

"I swear I will end you," he said resolutely. His enemy seemed unimpressed, he just kept on smirking.

"Oh yeah," HE said back confidently, "You and whose army?"

"You know perfectly well," he said back.

"Talk is cheap," HIS voice said, "you've failed. You've failed at every turn. You're failing even now. Not only are you broken, you're bleeding all over your precious cave. You're bleeding to death."

"Just… wait…. Until… I… Make … it…. to… auto….," he panted as he resumed his crawl.

A silent laughter filled the room.

"Fool!" HIS voice thundered, "even if you make it to your contraption, it's nothing like a real doctor. You'll still be a broken shell of a man."

"I.. don't…. need… my… body… to… defeat…. you…," he panted as he neared the other chamber, "my… brain… is… all…. I… need…."

This time there came no reply. Causing him to halt and look over his shoulder at HIS likeness.

"Shut you up, didn't I?" he said triumphantly. His enemy didn't reply. His likeness on the wall just continued his smirk.

"Asshole," he muttered as he continued his slow crawl. At least he'd shown HIM. Now if only the world would stop spinning.

Only through sheer force of will did he not pass out and manage to reach the auto-doc. It helped that after a while the pain become so overwhelming that it began to dull his senses. As he pulled his leg inside the auto-doc he could finally relax in its recliner seat.

As soon as the door closed an anaesthetizing mist began to envelop him as the auto-doc came to life. Gradually his pain began to dull until eventually it disappeared altogether. As it did he also began to feel drowsy.

But before he gave in to the auto-doc's healing process he used his good arm to connect several electrodes to his brain. Then he activated VR slumber mode. No need to waste away most of the time he was going to spend in here. Over time he had spent a lot of time in the auto-doc, and the virtual reality slumber mode would allow him to continue to work while he was healing.

Waste not, want not.

After all, he had to start all over again.

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It is good to be the king.

Or so a Tau'ri saying supposedly went.

While Anubis was the first to admit that being a part of the Goa'uld ruling elite had its many perks, those tended to go down the wayside once you underwent such minor detail as Ascension and partial..., for lack of a better word..., Descension. It was kinda hard to sample the simple pleasures in life once your body ceased to be. But there were still the pleasures of the mind.

Unfortunately for him he had so little time for them. Ever since his defeat at the hands of Amūn it had taken a lot of time and a lot of short lived hosts to rebuild his powerbase. At least it would seem he no longer had to fear that tin pot Goa'uld warrior wannabe and his Saiyan body Amūn. Reports had it the idiot had died, probably as he could no longer maintain control of that Saiyan body of his.

Big surprise there. Ever since Saiyan mercenaries had been made available to them via Freeza, many Goa'uld had dreamed of possessing such superb bodies. They had all failed as the Saiyan body proved impossible for any Goa'uld to inhabit. It was said that a Goa'uld might enter a neutron star first before ever being able to enter a Saiyan.

Still, even for a limited time Amūn had proved himself able to do the unthinkable. He had entered and controlled a Saiyan host. It might be worth investigating how he had done it if it weren't for the fact that there were no more Saiyans. Freeza had destroyed their world. The chances of finding another were slim beyond hope.

Plus the only people who possessed the knowledge to do so were his former Jaffa. Who so far had resisted all attempts by any Systemlord to be assimilated into their service. They had even dared to set themselves up as independents. Following their own religion. Even spreading it amongst the Jaffa of other Systemlords. They had to be dealt with.

But not by him. At least not now.

They would be dealt with. Once he had full control over the other Systemlords. But until then they would have to be somebody else's problem. For now regaining the control he used to have over the Systemlords was his first and foremost priority. That and finishing off the Tau'ri. Which was both a means to an end (destroying the Tau'ri would garner him great honor and credit amongst the Systemlords) and as a purpose in itself (for the Tau'ri homeworld would give rise to a great danger that would eventually consume them all).

So it was off towards plotting and scheming again. Lucky for him, his time being Ascended had given him extensive insight into the knowledge and technology of the Ancients. And what they had left behind in deadly unattended technology and weaponry in the Galaxy would make a sane man tremble in fear and a megalomaniac water his mouth in lust.

The problem however was that almost all of it was scattered in the territory of various Systemlords who would use those Ancient artifacts against him in a heartbeat. So he had to thread carefully. Make do with what he had, the Ancient knowledge he remembered, some of the Asgard knowledge he had stolen from Thor.

It had enabled him to strike a series of alliance with various minor Systemlords. So far all the major Systemlords had refused his offers of alliance, with most of them being downright hostile to him. And as luck held it, all the really cool Ancient artifacts were still in the territory of his enemies.

He was sitting in the stellar cartography chamber of his stronghold. The holographic emitters capable of reproducing any corner of the Galaxy to its minutest known detail. Technology any Earth planetarium would kill for to possess. As he studied the Galaxy's stellar-political map it became apparent that he had reached an impasse. No more Systemlords would flock to his banner. His only course of avenue now was to unify those that did into a single force and make the others see reason.

The problem was that while he had the power to overcome most of the major Systemlords, a few were still beyond him. Powerful Systemlords like Baal and Yi could resist him for a long while and make him pay dearly. And if he were to make a move against one, the others would combine against him. Like they did in the past. He therefore had to find a way to take them one at a time without the others taking notice and ally against him.

Which brought him back to his original problem. How to make some of the major Systemlords see reason? His reason of course.

As he mused staring at the territory of a particular troublesome Systemlord he nearly didn't sense the presence of somebody behind him.

"I gave strict orders not to be disturbed," he said without looking over his shoulders.

"That's alright," a voice said behind him, "I can wait."

To Anubis' surprise the voice spoke neither in the dialect of his Jaffa, nor In the subservient manner that was their custom. Curious he turned around and saw that there was nobody there in the blackened room.

Had he been a normal Goa'uld in a normal human host body Anubis would not have seen who had dared disturb him in his inner sanctum. In his semi-Ascended body his vision was greatly enhanced. But that body had been destroyed by Amūn and he had to make do with normal human host bodies again..

But he was still far from a normal Goa'uld. Rather then a parasite inside a human host he was mostly energy inside a human host. While it caused his body to deteriorate rapidly it also enabled him to see that a faint outline of a human like shape was leaning against what was the doorway out of the map room.

"Who are you?" he demanded to know and reached for the communicator that would bring in his Jaffa.

"I wouldn't do that if I we're you," the unknown visitor said offhand. Somehow Anubis halted his action. There was something…. Not the voice. But the way his visitor felt was familiar.

"Been busy plotting and scheming?" his visitor said as he walked through the room, walking through holographic planets and constellations, "I guess you have to keep yourself busy in some form or another."

"Who are you?" Anubis asked again. His visitor halted and his outline, still the only part of him that was faintly visible shrugged.

"Who I am is not important," he said offhand, "Who I represent is far more important. You owe us a debt, little worm, and it is time to pay up."

It was only then that it clicked inside what passed for Anubis' brain.

"You are…..," he stammered as he took an involuntary step backwards. The outline shook its head.

"I am nothing of the sort. I am just the messenger," it said smug, "But thanks for thinking that I am though. I appreciate that."

"I am here to give you a message, little worm. And it goes like this. Once there was a little worm. Who pissed off too many of his fellow little worms. So they decided to get together and kick his sorry little ass out of their little worm club. And so they did."

"So the little worm found itself all alone and dying, when he came upon a gullible little Ancient called Oma Desala. Who turned out to be a real sucker for a sad story. She took pity on this little worm and Ascended him. But once she did she found out what a bad little worm he really was. After all, you must be a really bad little worm for the other bad little worms to take offense. Upon seeing his true nature the other Ancients banded together to imprison the now shiny little worm in a private fun dimension of his own. And there the story would have ended. Case closed."

The outline walked over until it stood in front of Anubis.

"But the story didn't end there, didn't it, little worm? Desperate to escape again you contacted my employers. They saw great potential in you so they helped you escape the Ancient's version of your private fun house. It was they who let you keep most of the goodies that come with Ascension, even though you are now a denizen of the lower plain again."

"Them!" Anubis hissed softly and the outline nodded.

"You didn't think They had forgotten about you, little worm?" the outline said disparagingly, "You owe them and the time has come to collect. Now, so far you have been a major let down. We have yet to see the flames of your crusade burn across the Galaxy. In fact we have yet to see much of anything."

Anubis wanted to protest but the outline put up the outline of a hand and cut him off.

"Yeah, I know. It's not your fault. You had bad luck. You were thwarted. You had a bad childhood. The list of excuses is endless. Still doesn't change the fact that they are just that."

The outline placed a hand on Anubis' shoulder, the touch of which was revolting even to the likes of Anubis.

"Now it so happens that you are in luck, little worm," the outline said cheerfully. Then it used its other hand to touch the controller of the holographic emitter and the focus of the holographic maproom changed to a little known star system on the outer end of one of the Galaxy's spiral arms.

"You can repay your debt to us in such a way you will be the better for it as well. And all you have to do is this simple thing. Such a little thing..."


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter 1**

' **When The Bullet Hits The Bone'**

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 _Help I'm steppin' into the twilight zone_

 _The place is a madhouse, feels like being cloned_

 _My beacon's been moved under moon and star_

 _Where am I to go, now that I've gone too far_

 **Twilight Zone**

Golden Earring, album:

Lyrics by George Kooymans

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AN: _W00t! Da first chapter! And what a labor of torture it turned out to be. You wonder why it took me almost a year on end to start posting the next part? Look no further then this chapter. I don't really know why though. Probably because by then I still hadn't fleshed out the full story yet._

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A-Day

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In a spot overlooking Botany Bay, the famous Sydney Harbor bridge and the Opera House Yamcha stood waiting. Close by was Tien, who was even now cooing the baby that Bulma held in her arms.

"Who's a nice little fella?" Tien said as he played with his finger in front of the baby's face, "who's a nice little fella?"

Bulma looked like a proud mother as Tien played with her son.

Her son.

But not his, Yamcha snorted mentally. Even though he'd known for quite a while, he still found it hard to comprehend. It should have been his kid. She should have been his girl. But he let her get away. Slip into _his_ hands.

Part of that was her fault of course. She pushed him. Hard. Often way to hard. And it wasn't like he was so adverse to the idea of settling down with Bulma. Or with other women for that matter. It was just the way she wanted to settle down so fast.

And change him.

What was it with women that they felt the need to change their men? I mean, if the guy's not perfect, why not go out looking for one that's more to what you had in mind? He liked being who and what he was. He was no nine to five kind of guy. He was not the kind of guy who was going to work on a career. Why couldn't Bulma realize this? I mean, it wasn't like she was a traditional kind of gal herself. Her parents seemed fine with who he was, why couldn't she?

Of course it wasn't to late. She may have had something with his Royal Assholeness, but he left her as well. Bastard left her pregnant and alone, then disappeared into the sunset. Bastard left her vulnerable for those two scouting androids. And it was he who had saved her. So the bridge wasn't completely burned. Fire had damaged the superstructure but the foundations were still intact for a rebuild.

But then he'd have to accept her child as well. _HIS_ kid.

And some things were just to damn hard for a man to swallow.

He wasn't a complete asshole. He knew these were the times when more families broke up then stayed together. Where kids grew up with single parents, weekend fathers, and where a man looking to find a significant other often had to accept she came with children from another man. Those were the times and Yamcha was okay with that. He had no selfish desire to pass on his genes and in a way there was an advantage to dating a woman with kids. They weren't on some desperate doomsday clock to get kids before the big P set in and at least there weren't going to be any sleepless and sexless nights with babies demanded constant attention.

And then some things were just too damn hard for any man to swallow.

And that included taking care of the child of the man who had belittled him, humiliated him and used him for a punching bag ever since he had entered the Brief's household more then four years ago. Cause while the child was innocent, in Yamcha's mind he would always reminded him of Vegeta. Of how he had soiled his life and how he had soiled Bulma's.

No, it was definitely too late for the both of them.

As he looked up Yamcha could finally see Goku and the others as they descended from the sky.

"We've been waiting for you for a while now," Yamcha said cocky as Goku touched down, "You're late."

"Hey, Yamcha," Goku said as he took his friend in an embrace so tight it would have crushed a lesser men. Now it only nearly crushed Yamcha instead. Damn Saiyans and their infinite reservoirs of strength.

"it's been too long!"

"For Kami's sake Goku, it's been only nine months," Yamcha said back as the Saiyan finally let go, then he turned to Krillin and made a few shadow boxing moves, "How you doing, Krillin? Did you and that nice girl….."

The look Krillin gave him said it all. So it didn't work out. But hey, at least the little guy finally got some. Better to have loved and lost, right? Even if it was just a one night stand.

Yamcha wanted to say hello to Gohan but Bulma beat him to it.

"Hi Gohan," Bulma smiled at the kid, "You've grown."

Upon hearing her Goku frowned.

"You shouldn't have come, Bulma," Goku said disapprovingly, "It's too dangerous."

"Nice to see you too, Goku" Bulma said deadpan, "Don't worry. I'm just here to have a good look at the androids. After that I'll leave. Besides, it's not like I never stared down a couple of homicidal androids before."

"Never mind that," Krillin said as he stood there gawking at the child in Bulma's arms, "You're holding a baby! You and Yamcha finally got married or something?"

Aw crap, Yamcha thought, Bulma just had to drag the little tyke along, didn't she? Couldn't leave it at home with gramps. Ah well, best to get it over with quickly.

"It's not mine," Yamcha said as he closed his eyes, "We split up quite some time ago. And you're never gonna guess who its dad really is."

Without batting an eyelid Goku reached over to the child and rubbed underneath the child's chin.

"Trunks, you're Vegeta's son, aren't you," he said smiling.

For a moment everything was dead silence, except for a loud smack as a certain Namek facepalmed himself.

"How…, how did you know?" Bulma said flabbergasted, "We wanted to keep it a surprise."

The Saiyan suddenly glanced over at Piccolo, who gave him the 'you're on your own' look.

"Busted," somebody said as Goku began to scratch the back of his head and grinned sheepishly.

"Know? I just had this feeling," Goku smiled nervously, "He sorta looks like Vegeta's."

Tsssk! Worst excuse _ever!_ Yamcha thought as he looked on, then he glanced at Piccolo who now had his 'how could you' look, then back at the nervous looking Goku and finally at little Trunks. And suddenly it clicked. Well I'll be damned! So _that_ was who Future Saiyan was. Suddenly it all made sense.

"You even got the name right," Bulma said as she eyed Goku suspiciously.

"Who, me?" Goku said as he began to laugh like it was all a big joke, "I guess I must be psychic then."

"Hmmm," Bulma said suspiciously.

"That's Vegeta's kid?" Krillin asked, still having trouble wrapping his head around the concept.

"Enough," Piccolo called out impatiently, "We're not here to chat. Where's Vegeta?"

"I don't know," Bulma said, "But I'll know he'll come. He's trained hard for this day."

The Namek looked at the person next to him and raised an eyebrow.

"So he has returned then?" he said surprised.

"He's been back for a while," Bulma nodded, "although I haven't seen him much. We sort of broke up."

"He'll come," Goku said as he began to sport a very Saiyan like smirk, "Vegeta will definitely come for this one."

"I didn't let Chaozu come," Tien said, "To be honest he's not strong enough."

"Leave your mancrush back at home again?" Yamcha grinned at Tien, "You know, if you leave him home every time you go out he might start thinking you've found a new boyfriend."

"I'm not gay," Tien sighed tiredly.

"It's probably a good idea Chaozu didn't come," Goku said and looked up for a moment before turning to Bulma, "What time is it?"

"09:30," Bulma said as she barely glanced at her own watch.

"You should leave now before the child gets hurt," Goku said but Bulma let out a loud snort.

"Androids first, then I'll leave." she said absolutely fearless.

"So where's Belmovekk?" Krillin asked Yamcha, "surely you set out at the same time, right? After all, you're both from California."

"He said he wanted to wait until Goku was here," Yamcha said, "Then he'd come."

"Wouldn't he be late then?" Tien asked somewhat surprised, upon which Yamcha shrugged.

"I think he wants to show off," he said.

No sooner had he said it as out of nowhere Belmovekk appeared, two fingers resting on his forehead, along with three others with their hands on him.

"Told you he was going to show off," Yamcha said frowning at the other Saiyan's display.

As he let go of Belmovekk Xander turned to Goku's Z-fighters.

"Lucy, I am home," he said in a bad Ricky Ricardo imitation.

"Gee, Xander," Buffy said behind him, "couldn't you have made a better pun?"

Then Buffy heard a familiar voice.

As she turned around she saw Faith standing there next to Piccolo, the both of them in identical poses, arms across her chest.

"So, B., how's it hanging lately?"

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A-Day minus 255

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Christ!

She couldn't believe Jolly Green had talked her into coming along with him.

Sunnydale.

How she hated the place.

Even now as she flew across the Gulf of Mexico, most of their long journey over, Faith couldn't help but think she'd rather turn around and fly all that distance back again, just to put some distance between her and that accursed place.

Of course Jolly Green wouldn't stand for it.

Curse him and his evil debating skillz!

Except Faith wasn't quite sure that Piccolo was male. After all, he had been spawned by what he called his father. And he claimed he could do it as well. Which would technically mean Piccolo was female. Of course a simple male/female dichotomy didn't apply to Nameks. They were a single sex species, capable of reproducing without the help of others.

Up to a point they could even control what kind of genes they wished to pass on. Piccolo himself was the result of such an act as his sire, Piccolo the Demon king, had made him into a fighter. As a result his aptitude for magic, which had been quite high for his sire, was now quite low.

But Piccolo was a tactician pur sang. He didn't waste time dwelling on what he didn't have, he'd try and find ways to work with what he had. She had come to admire that in the time they had spend together.

Theirs had been a strange relationship from the start. When she had waken up without her powers all she could do was sit and wait, let her anger and hatred grow as she had to sit there impotently on top of that steep rock.

She had sat there angry until she felt her powers return. Then she tried to escape.

And ran straight into Piccolo.

After which she immediately got her first lesson.

Do not annoy the Green One.

Unfortunately the lesson didn't take hold as for a whole month straight she had tried to escape at every opportunity. And each time Jolly Green had found her. Sometimes within seconds, sometimes after days, one time after she thought she had finally gotten away. There was just no escaping the Green One. And each time he drove the message home. Not with self righteous words. But through 'other' means.

Do not annoy the Green One.

For a whole month she tried to get away before she finally accepted that there really was no escape.

And that was when the Namek began to train her.

For two more months she fought him tooth and nail passively. Resenting her captivity by sabotaging his attempts to teach her. The fights were long and tiring. Then one night she sat up awake, looking at the full moon and she wondered what happened to Little Brother. The only friend she ever really had. Oz. Other then saying that the mayor had been defeated and killed, Piccolo refused to tell her anything as to what had happened in Sunnydale

It was at that moment as she contemplated the fate of her once dear friend that she realized that she was truly alone in this world. And it was her own fault. Oz may be dead because of the choice she had made.

It was at that moment that she began to cry, sobbing uncontrollably. Naturally Jolly Green noticed her distress. Even when he was sitting there cross-legged, arms folded across his chest, eyes closed, looking very much asleep, he never was as Nameks never slept. Again proving that part of him was somehow female, as the Namek was able to multitask on his meditations and keep an eye on her.

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(Piccolo's POV)

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She had been crying for the first time in three months that night. For three long, long months she had been playing the tough biker chick routine. Kami knew she had been testing his patience. There had been words. There had been physical reprimands. There were times he contemplated handing her back lock stock and barrel to Belmovekk.

And it wasn't just because she was had been trying to escape for a whole month straight. That at least had been fun. A nice cat and mouse game to while away the time babysitting. She had proven cunning, resourceful and persistent. He couldn't turn his back on her for a second only to find her gone.

It was when she stopped running away that things went sour. She constantly fought him, never listening to a word he said. It was maddening!

Gohan had never fought him like that. In fact the kid seemed quite happy to accept his tutorage. Of course, letting the kid survive in the wild for half a year might had something to do with that. Being that long without human contact made you cling all the more to someone once you finally did meet someone again. And while Piccolo wasn't human he had inherited much of the knowledge of his sire, the Demon King, the master of mind games. Oh yes, he would never admit it to Gohan, but besides training the kid to fight Vegeta he was also trying to win him over, turn him against his father.

What he didn't count on was that the bond that had developed between him and Gohan. Since he wasn't a demon like his sire he failed to keep himself detached emotionally. The bond that grew out of that was what rescued him from the dark path set out for him by his sire.

But he couldn't redo what he had done with Gohan with the girl. For one thing the girl was way more powerful then Gohan had been. And way further advanced in her martial arts. Gohan basically knew nothing. She on the other hand could fly. There was no way in hell that he could leave her alone for six months straight.

So he stuck around. Sacrificing valuable training time to keep an eye on her. And regretted ever letting Belmovekk talk him into taking on this gig as she fought him tooth and nail trying to teach her anything. She was like Vegeta, only with tits. How on Earth that old coot Belmovekk taught her anything was beyond him. It gave him new respect for Belmovekk. And lots of dislike for foisting her off on him.

And then she cried.

Gohan had cried. Cried for days. Sometimes it looked like he cried just about for everything. But that was normal for a small kid. The girl had never once cried so far.

She had been sitting there, staring at the full moon (Thank Kami she wasn't Saiyan). Thinking by the looks of it. Then she began to cry, sobbing uncontrollably. Had this happened earlier he'd suspected her yet another escape attempt.

"Are you alright, kid?" he asked her. She didn't respond, she just went on crying. Great, it looked like she was suddenly in full scale emotional breakdown. Goku's wife had similar moments. Usually around that certain time of the month. He had made it a mental note to always keep track of Chichi's time of the month so he could scoot off in time for some 'private training'. He felt sorry for Goku and Gohan for abandoning them to their mother at such a time but hey, some sacrifices were just too great to ask for.

The girl never broke down during her time of the month. At least he hoped not. It was bad enough that she became even more obstinate and hostile at those moments, Kami forbid that crying would become part of the deal as well.

Damn it, what was he supposed to do? He was Piccolo, the Demon King. Or ex-Demon King. He didn't do emotional. He was the guy who told people to suck it up instead.

" _Just go over to her and hold her,"_ a voice said in his mind. He had a pretty good idea who that was.

" _Stay out of my mind, you old coot,"_ he thought back angry. Damn did he hate that weird psychic connection that existed between him and that self-appointed celestial do-gooder Kami in his celestial lookout in the sky.

" _Just hold her,"_ Kami thought back calmly.

" _I told you before, I don't do emotional,"_ Piccolo replied.

" _You don't have to do emotional,"_ came Kami's response, _"she's not Goku's wife. She doesn't need an emotional punching bag. She needs a friend. Now more then ever."_

Reluctantly Piccolo unfolded himself and went over to the crying girl.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he tentatively reached out towards the girl. No sooner had he done so as she turned around and threw her arms around his waist. As her muffled cries came from his steadily moistening waist Piccolo looked up unsure of what to do.

" _Don't you dare laugh, old coot!"_

Then he put his arms around her and held her in his embrace.

x

(Faiths POV)

x

He looked so uncomfortable as he held her it would have been funny if it weren't for her emotional breakdown. But he held her in his embrace, providing her with the right emotional feedback for now. For now someone was looking out after her. She held on to that.

After that their relationship changed. In many ways Jolly Green was as emotionally crippled as she was. She had suffered from years of child abuse and emotional neglect, he for a long time only had hate to guide him in a world that wasn't his own. She had done evil things. He had done evil things. When she looked into his eyes there was no condemnation, no accusation. And she needed that.

She stopped fighting him after that. For the next three months she let him train him. Just lose herself in the training. And Jolly Green was wicked smart when it came to training. He may not have a state of the art gravity gym. But he knew how to get the most out of his environment. It was like she was in a gravity gym after all. All jazzed up from training she would have dinner while he drank some water. Evenings were hard though as all that penned up energy from training made her horny as hell. And it was hard getting laid wherever she was. Which meant she had to resort to her sock puppet of love.

Oh boy, did Jolly Green hate it whenever she did that thanks to his sensitive ears. Never did she see him tense up more during meditation whenever she had a happy time.

She still wasn't sure when it happened but one day she called him Jolly Green and she realized it was no longer to hurt him, or to tease him. She meant it affectionately. And he smiled back as she said it. They had crossed over from strange bedfellows into something else entirely.

It wasn't like the connection she had had with Wilkins. Wilkins had showered her with affection, compliments, given her gifts, gone out of his way to be nice to her. And while she now realized he was pure evil incarnate, she still believed the little bit of humanity that was left in him was aimed at her. She still believed he genuinely loved her. Which made it all the more difficult that she had to let him go and everything he stood for.

Piccolo was different. Like Big B. he was sparse in his compliments towards her and he firmly believed in the tough love approach like B. had. But he never was out to humiliate her to ram down a point. And when he paid her a compliment it was like the sun shined on her. And unlike Big B. he was hers. All hers.

x

(Piccolo's POV)

x

After her breakdown things had changed. She stopped fighting his attempts to teach her, she even began to pay attention. He could even begin working on his own training again.

Too bad training made her sexually charged. His experience with Gohan never prepared him for a situation like this. It was like she had a rash down there or something, the girl couldn't stop touching herself. It was disgusting. Kami knew how much effort he had to exert to keep her out of his meditative thoughts. It was like she fiendishly delighted in rubbing it or something else just to annoy him, constantly moaning loudly out of sight. He dreaded that one day she would come up to him and ask him to 'scratch her itch' for her.

Still, she was fun to have around. A force of nature really. In that sense she was Gohan all over again. Until her arrival Gohan and his had been the closest bond he had ever experienced with another person. The bond still existed, but as Gohan returned to live with his parents it had changed. The bond that had grown between him and the girl was different. It had to be, Gohan was a small child who looked up to him. Faith was a woman by the standards of many Earth societies. But like Gohan she craved approval of a father figure. That was how that accursed mayor had gotten to her in the first place. And they were alike in many ways. They both had to grow up on their own without the help of others. He in the wilderness of the wild, she in the urban wilderness. And they were both weapons created by others for purposes not of their own.

Underneath them the Gulf of Mexico gave way to the coast and interior of Mexico. They had been flying at a leisurely yet brisk pace ever since leaving his hidden lair. Which meant one more hour over flying Mexico, then come out over the Gulf of California, then he had the choice, either use the Gulf to fly north over the Mojave desert, bypass Los Angeles in the west and approach Sunnydale from the east. That was the short route.

The other route meant taking the scenic route. Over fly the gulf, cross over Baja California and then use the Pacific to bypass Los Angeles in the east and finally come in towards Sunnydale from the sea. To bad it was anything but scenic. Not only did it add half an hour of travel time, flying over water was boring as fuck.

But the shorter route also took him perilously close to several major US military installations. So it was probably best to take the scenic route. From what Belmovekk had told him the military now pretty much left them alone, the android search over, it still didn't mean he was going to give up his privacy.

Besides, the scenic route would take them near his old haunts in Baja California. The place where he grew up. Give him a chance to show her the place. She probably wouldn't give a shit about it anyway, but any excuse for him to return was good enough as far as he was concerned.

x

* * *

x

"It must have been one hell of a battle."

They were both standing at what the locals nowadays called ground zero.

B. used to call it high school.

Faith now called it a war zone.

"Bite your head off," Piccolo echoed standing behind her, "Belmovekk's soldier boys call it the Battle of Sunnydale. The name stuck."

They were standing on what used to be Sunnydale High. Nothing remained of the place, including the surrounding neighborhood. And while some reconstruction had begun of the residential areas, nothing had happened to the actual school grounds itself as weeds had begun to reclaim the ground.

Faith turned her head around and looked at Piccolo.

"And nobody thought it was strange that you guys tore up the place?"

Piccolo looked around and began to stroke his chin.

"Maybe it's the Hellmouth," he mused out loud, "they're know for their amnesic effects. In the end people prefer the world as they want it to be over the world as really is. And I'm sure your former boss had something to do with it as well."

Faith nodded. Wilkins had tried to explain it to her once and within a minute she had zoned out. From what she remembered Jolly Green was on the mark though, with Wilkins just enhancing an existing effect.

A couple of kids ran by, toy guns in their hands and plastic helmets on their heads. Shouting simulated gunfire they ran right past them like there wasn't some seven feet tall eighties reject fashion wearing green alien standing right next to her. Faith looked incredulously at the kids, then at Jolly Green.

"Don't tell me you now also fall under the Sunnydale effect?" she asked him.

"Not exactly," Piccolo replied a little smug, "just a little something our Saiyan friend gave me. A compunction."

"A who?"

"A compunction," Piccolo explained, "a little sorcery spell that makes people not take notice of me. They see me, but they don't take noti…"

Piccolo stopped talking as he saw the familiar look in Faith's eyes. Sometimes she had the attention span of an amoeba. Especially when it concerned things she couldn't give a damn about.

"Should have just said it was something magic, Jolly Green," Faith shrugged, then she looked around, "I've seen enough. Let's go."

"You want to go and pay your respects? Piccolo asked but Faith shook her head.

"Not really," she said sullenly. I just want to stuff myself with some fast-food and go to sleep in a real bed for a change.

"Suit yourself," Piccolo shrugged. Then they turned around and left the former school grounds.

"God I could kill for a double meat special," Faith sighed, "I used to hate those things. But after six months living in the jungle with you I could even lick the inside of a stale pizza box. Nothing makes you crave junk food more then healthy food."

"Sorry I fed you good food," Piccolo replied not sorry at all, "You do know why they call it fast food, right? Because it speeds you up to the grave."

"I don't care, Jolly Green," Faith said as she smacked her lips, "God, do I crave a double meat special right now, it's not natural."

"Neither is the double meat special," Piccolo said deadpan, "it's not even meat."

"You're kidding right?" Faith said aghast, "Please tell me you're kidding."

"One hundred percent processed vegetable pulp," the Namek smirked and tapped his nose, "the nose never lies, kiddo."

"I hate you so much right now," Faith said with glaring eyes, then she shrugged, "Alright, maybe some pizza then?"

x

* * *

x

Faith stood in a large room that had no windows. Standing before a large four-poster bed with a large trunk for clothing in front of it, she found that he bed looked familiar. Too familiar for comfort. She turned around and saw a large wall full of weapons hanging on it. It was then that she recognized the place. It was the secret apartment the mayor had given her, underneath City Hall. At first for secret stays when the Scoobies hadn't suspected that she'd switched sides. And then permanently when they finally did learn of her defection. That was when she finally moved in what she would come to call 'the basement'.

To this day she still didn't know which she hated the most, her underground tomb or her dinky motel room. One was one step above living in a pig's sty, the other one step above feeling like being buried alive.

'The basement' was not that far from the large cavernous space Wilkins used as his counterpart to the gravity gym, so she could train. She was also pretty sure this was the place where Trick had hidden from her all this time.

She walked to the wall with the weapons hanging from it and picked up a large blade. When she was last here this one had been a favourite of hers. Being versed in the arts of chi fighting she had no need of weapons anymore. Besides, even her first Watcher had told her before she learned the arts of chi that she herself was the ultimate weapon.

It still felt damn good to fight with them though. It must be the Slayer that was inside her, as it came with instinctual knowledge how to handle anything that could stab, hack, slash, punch and dismember. Or shoot arrows. It fell short though when it came to modern firearms. When the Slayer was being created they apparently had a vast but specific arsenal in mind, just not firearms. Which was probably why Slayers tended to shun away from them even though they could be useful. Firearms usually didn't kill a vampire or demon, but aimed at the right places they could still serve a purpose of slowing them down.

Faith hung the blade on the wall. This was all fun and stuff, but this was part of her old life. She had closed off this particular period in her life.

No sooner had she done so when she heard a giggling sound

She turned around and walked towards 'the basement's' exit. She opened the door and stepped through. Instead of finding herself in one of the many tunnels underneath Sunnydale City Hall she suddenly found herself on the grounds of Sunnydale High again. Only this time the place looked even worse then when she had stood there with Piccolo earlier. Some parts of the building still seemed upright, if you define upright as in 'not being completely demolished'. There was far more concrete rubble and mangled steel littered the field.

As she walked she came across a body and she knelt beside it. It was the body of a young man lying crumpled on the ground, his body torn and twisted unnaturally as if every bone in his body had been broken. A black woolly hat still clung to his head but only barely. On his forehead she could see there was a black tattoo of what looked like two upright standing feathers inside an oval circle.

DOOM!

A loud explosion interrupted her examination. Overhead two people came by, a short one and a guy with short spiky hair. Like jets they charged overhead, then they swung upwards and split up, flying apart at a 90 degree angle until coming to a sudden stop and the both of them launched simultaneous energy attacks towards something out of her sight.

DOOM!

Another explosion followed, then the two fighters flew away like death itself was on their heels. Whatever they had shot at, it clearly wasn't enough. From a distance another energy attack lanced towards the invisible target, again to little effect.

And then a body fell out of the sky and crashed down hard next to her. A body of someone very familiar.

"B.?" Faith exclaimed as she recognized her fellow Slayer. B. was in very poor shape as her clothing were torn and blood came from at least a dozen visible wounds, scrapes and bruises. At first B. looked like she was out cold, then she began to stir and cough. She even began to cough up some blood. Definitely not a good thing.

Without thinking Faith ran over to her fellow Slayer, knelt down next to and put her hand underneath B.'s head.

"Relax B.," she said as she tried to make B. feel a little more comfortable, "It will be alright."

B. opened her eyes and stared directly into hers.

"This is all your fault," she said accusingly.

"I…, uh," Faith stammered as the accusation hit home. She wanted to say something when B. lashed out and punched her squarely on the jaw. Faith was launched in the air backwards and then fell on her back. After she had landed she reached for her jaw and looked at B. in shock

"B.? What the….?" she said flabbergasted. Before she could finish her sentence B. did a flip that brought her back onto her feet and then threw herself at Faith. Instinctively Faith rolled on her side and kicked towards B., throwing B. off of her before she had a chance to land on top of her. Now it was B.'s turn to land backwards, but she somersaulted and landed on her hands and knees. Crouched in this position she glared angrily at Faith.

"You will pay for what you caused here today," B. said through gritted teeth. Then she threw her hands forward and launched two energy beams at Faith. Faith crossed her wrists in front of her and focused her chi in front of it to deflect the attack.

It still hurt like being struck with a running freight train though.

It took immense effort for Faith but eventually she managed to push back B.'s attack and threw at back at her. B. on the other hand effortless swathed her own attack aside and send it harmlessly into the sky.

"I. Will. End. You. Bitch!" Buffy yelled slowly and threw herself at Faith again. This time Faith was better prepared and the two began to battle it out evenly.

On and on it went until the giggle returned. While not loud it was enough for both Slayers to stop and take notice.

"Did you hear that?" B. said as she wearily eyed Faith while trying to ascertain what else was out there.

"Yeah, I heard," Faith panted.

Then the giggling noise was heard again, and this time, because both Slayers had stopped fighting, it sounded even creepier.

"Truce?" Faith suggested. B. gave her another weary eye.

"It still doesn't mean I trust you," B. almost spat at Faith, but the gist was clear. In Sunnydale the creepy had to take precedence over personal vendettas.

Another bout of giggling followed and Faith turned around.

"It came from over here," she said, then turned her head towards B. again.

Only this time B. didn't reply as her fellow Slayer was gone. Vanished into thin air. Even the scene had changed as well as she was no longer amongst the rubble of Sunnydale High, but instead in some underground man made tunnel. She stood in a puddle of water as over her head a light bulb flickered. The straight tunnel was man made as electricity cables hung from the concrete ceiling going on in what seemed like forever.

"B.?" Faith called but there came no reply. Except for some more of that infernal giggling. Which by now was really getting to get on Faith's nerves.

"Show yourself!" Faith yelled angrily but no one or nothing showed itself. Instead the giggle gained a mocking undertone.

"You're so going to get it now," Faith muttered as she began to run towards where she thought the giggle was coming from.

It took like seemingly forever to traverse the tunnel until she came to a set of doors. The doors itself were ripped out, like a Saiyan had come through and pushed it aside like it was a mere shower curtain. Through the doors she entered a large space, also completely manmade, the inside looked like said Saiyan had used if for his personal stomping ground. Debris and dead bodies were everywhere, all bathed in red emergency lighting.

"Damn!" Faith exclaimed as she saw the carnage. Another bout of giggling drew her attention back to the matter at hand.

"I'm gonna get you," Faith yelled and made her way through the hall to get to where she thought the annoying laughter was coming from. She stepped through another doorway, the door again brutally shoved aside like it was a mere curtain. More giggling convinced her that she was on the right track. As she passed through this new corridor she went through door after door all ripped open and with more carnage behind each one of them.

After what seemed like forever passing through a maze of halls and corridors Faith finally had the idea that she was gaining on the mystery joker. The fact that when she came to the end of the corridor there was still a massive intact door also was a dead give away. She paused momentarily to examine the door. It was a security door that seemed to be standard in this place, no window to see through, nor a means to open it. Just a barely visible outline of a number on the door itself.

Faith placed her ear on the door and tried to listen. As she did she could hear the giggling coming from the other side.

"Oh, you're going down, mister," she said as she stepped back. Then she kicked against the door with so much force it buckled, came free from its hinges and crashed into the other side of the room.

"You and me, right now," Faith said angry as she stepped into yet another large hall. The place looked like a hospital, with all sorts of medical carts and implements. But although this time there was no visible exit present there didn't seemed to be anyone present. No mystery giggler.

"You've got to be shitting me," Faith said both surprised and annoyed, "what kind of sick twisted joke is this?"

"It's a fair question I might add," a voice said to her left. Faith nearly jumped into the air. As she turned to her left she saw Giles standing there.

"G.?" Faith almost whispered.

"Have you any idea how much your betrayal cost us?" the Watcher said impassionedly, "how many people died because you betrayed us?"

"I, uh, I, um, didn't mean to," Faith stammered but Giles seemed unforgiving.

"Tell that to your victims," he said.

"176 people were killed during the Battle of Sunnydale," Willow said as she stepped out of nowhere and joined Giles' side, "did you mean for that not to happen as well?"

"No, I, uh," Faith babbled as she took an involuntary step backwards. As she did it was Xander who stepped into view.

"176 people, Faith, that's an awful lot of I didn't mean too. What does it take for you to take responsibility for what you did?" Xander said as he joined the other two.

And it was an awful lot of I didn't mean to, Faith thought. Jolly Green had never told her how many people had died, just that some had been revived with the Dragonballs. But not everybody could be revived. The Dragonballs were potent. But they couldn't revive a person if there wasn't anything left to revive. And while through sheer luck the battle had mostly been contained to the Sunnydale high campus, there had been 'collateral damage'.

And that was totally ignoring the fact that her former boss had planned to feed on everybody inside Sunnydale after ascending. And that she had helped him plan for that.

"You should never have returned, Faith," the voice of Buffy said as she joined her clique, "I think it would have been best for everybody if you stayed away."

"I, I'm sorry," Faith said downcast.

"Sorry don't bring them back, Faith," Buffy replied coldly.

"Maybe you should have killed yourself," Willow shrugged, "come on, do us all a favor."

Faith looked down and bit her lip.

"I'm sorry," she said again, "I wish I could do it all over again."

"Can't undo what you did," Xander said shaking his head, "you can never do that."

"Still….," Giles said as he took off his glasses and began to polish them, "'spose there's one thing you could do."

"What?" Faith said hopeful, "I'll do it!"

Buffy put up her arm and pointed behind Faith.

"Take care of _Him_."

Faith turned around to the other side of the room, where all the medical carts where, all centred around a large table. On the table lay something, covered underneath a white cloth. Like a corpse on a medical examiner's table. Then the corpse or whatever it was sat up straight and began to pull the white cloth off itself. And whatever it was she had a feeling she wasn't going to like what was underneath the cover.

But before it could reveal itself she felt the presence of something standing behind her.

"Hello Faith," an effeminate voice boomed behind her. Then something long and snakelike wrapped itself around her neck and began to squeeze the life out of her.

"Huuuuh!"

With a gasping shock Faith awoke, her hand reaching for her neck, only to find there was no snakelike appendage wrapped around her neck.

"Damn!" Faith exclaimed, shaken by the dream she just had.

Sweaty and panting she looked around to find Piccolo. Only to suddenly remember she no longer was out in the boonies, but in a motel room in Sunnydale. Her old motel room to be exact. Chosen out of a sense of both perverse nostalgia and also because it had been actually free for rent. Naturally it looked exactly the same. Down to some old stuff of her which she had left behind hidden in an air vent.

Puffing Faith left the bed and made for the bathroom. Stumbling around in the dark she stepped in some of the opened, cold and still greasy pizza boxes from dinner.

"Aw crap!" she muttered as she felt some of the grease had gotten unto her feet. Inside the bathroom she switched on the lights and leaned on the sink. Next she sighed deeply, then she looked up and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

"You look like shit," she said to her reflection in the mirror. Which perversely was the first time in six months she had seen her full face in a large mirror, having to make do with just a small hand held mirror for all that time.

"Speak for yourself," her mirror image replied smirking, "I look happen to look fabulous myself."

Faith rolled her eyes and shook her head dejected as she stared into the sink.

"I'm still dreaming, ain't I?" Faith sighed.

"'fraid so," her reflection replied all chipper.

"Huuuuh!"

Faith gasped for air as she awoke in her motel room.

"Damn! That's the last time I have the Sunnydale surprise for dinner," Faith said as she pulled away her blanket and got out of bed. Only to land her feet in the cold, stale and greasy pizza box.

"Why do I even bother?" Faith muttered dejected as she walked to the bathroom. Inside the bathroom she switched on the light and stared into the mirror. Closely watching her likeness for any strange moves she turned on the tap and ran some water and splashed it on her face.

Again observing the mirror for any non-reflective movement she finally sighed. Either she had the mother of all nightmares. Or….. well, she'd shudder to think of the alternative. Slayer related dreams were harbingers of evil. Which meant she should confer them to her Watcher.

But she had no watcher. Well, officially Pestley was still her Watcher. And Jolly Green had told her he occasionally sent in phony reports to keep the Council happy wherever he was. But for all intents and purposes she was a free agent. Unless you counted Jolly Green as her Watcher. Which meant that she should be having a chat with Piccolo.

She again looked deeply in the mirror and touched her neck. Which still felt like something long and snakelike had touched her there.

Then she shook herself from her revelry. Maybe another time. If it was really important, whoever was behind those Slayer dreams would send her another one.

x

* * *

x

It had been a busy night at Willy's bar in Sunnydale and its undersized barkeeper had just closed the bar. Now came the thankless job of cleaning up the place. Holding a small bucket he went round every table and picked up the ashtrays and dumped their contents in the bucket. Some of these demons smoked like industrial chimneys. And you'd think that this being Commiefornia they would introduce a smoking ban in all public places, but no. It was therefore a good thing he had hired a mage to place a re-freshener and air cleaning spell on his bar. And still the place reeked of tobacco every night.

After he finished cleaning every ashtray in his bar Willy went towards the back and dumped the bucket's content in a garbage bag. Next he returned to his bar.

Only to find the one person in the whole world he'd never, _ever_ , wanted to see again sitting on one of his barstools.

"Hello, Willy," Faith said as she put a bottle back behind the counter after having just filled a glass for herself, "Did you miss me?"

"Only like AIDS, syphilis and gonorrhea," the bartender replied ash faced. He glanced at the front door. It was still closed. And he was pretty sure he fixed the last point of entry she had used. He moved behind the bar to make sure the bottle she had taken was out of reach. Damn, she had even taken one of the more expensive ones.

"How did you get in here?" he asked somewhat annoyed, "I made damn sure no one could get in here again. Other then through the front door."

"And the sewer hatch? Faith said as she sipped from her drink.

"And the sewer hatch," Willy sighed. He had even closed off the sewer hatch before closing the front door.

"And the small window in your bedroom?" Faith smirked.

"Especially the small window in….," Willy said, then he looked aghast, "Oooh."

Curse the sudden onset of this extremely hot weather. In December would you believe it! Of course, if she had come in through the bedroom window…..

Faith leaned over and smirked some more. Oh oh, she had seen it.

"You know, Willy, you should really install a password on your computer," she grinned, "You never know who might walk in and have a look."

Oh God, it was bad.

"You know, some of that stuff is illegal in most of the lower 49 states, Willy," Faith continued, "Or so I've heard. Then again I've been out of the loop for half a year, could be all 50 by now. Still, its good to know that despite hanging out with demons all the time you're still attracted to the human species. Even if they are a bit underage."

It was very bad. Where was the hole opening up in the ground to swallow him now?

"The girls, Willy," Faith said as she shook her head disapprovingly, "the girls, they look so wicked at that age. Makes you want to spank them. Did you want to spank me whenever you saw me? I guess you did, you naughty boy."

Willy didn't respond. Instead he took the bottle Faith had taken and poured himself a drink. Then he picked up the glass and emptied it in one gulp. Seeing that the bottle was now in reach again Faith reached out and re-filled her glass.

"Don't worry, Willy," she said as she put down the bottle, "your dirty secrets are safe with me. Somehow it makes you normal as far as I'm concerned. I mean, which guy doesn't like looking at hot young tail, right?"

Willy looked at Faith with the look of a man who had his most inner secret ripped out from in and now had nothing left to fear anymore.

"Did you come here for a reason or just to make fun of me?"

Faith put down her glass and tilted her head to side to give him a rueful look.

"Willy," she said piteously, "what's a little friendly banter between friends? Especially after I've just returned to town after six months?"

Willy took out a wet cloth and began to clean the bar while muttering something that sounded surprisingly much like 'then maybe you should have stayed away, you crazy psychotic bitch'.

Faith let Willy mutter on, then she hopped off her barstool and walked over to a wall. On the wall a large poster hung on a very prominent position.

"A new Edict?" Faith said incredulously as she read the poster's content, "haven't they learned from the last time?"

"They did,' Willy said snide, "This time they personally appointed an oversight committee, letting it be known that if something goes wrong the committee members will be the first to die. Plus they have the Librarian chair the Committee. They really don't want a repeat of the last time when your boss subverted the Committee."

"Ex-boss," Faith said chidingly, "So G.'s now heading the Committee, huh?"

"The guy has to do something these days," Willy shrugged, "After all, they totally leveled his library when they took down your bo…. Ex-boss."

"I suppose," Faith said as she briefly touched the Edict placate, then she faced Willy again, "I'm surprised though that the town's full of demons again. You'd think that after B. and her friends chased everybody out of town they'd think twice before getting back."

"You know the Hellmouth and demons," Willy said and nodded towards where the damn thing was centered, "It's like catnip to them, draws them in like moths to a flame. Some of them return cause its home to them. Others come her with big plans and then run into the Edict and stay, biding their time till the Slayer trips up. Others stay because they like the emanations coming of the Hellmouth. And many leave, going to LA instead. I'll tell you this though, it took a long while for business to return to what it used to be. Especially with the new administration in place."

Faith raised an eyebrow.

"New administration huh," she said as she picked up the bottle again for a refill, "I guess somebody had to take over after Wilkins went down. But surely the changes can't be that great? I mean, this is Sunnydale. Nothing ever changes here."

Willy took the bottle away from her, gave himself a refill and then put it away.

"And how much do you think was due to your bo…. ex-boss?" he said," the guy ran the place for a century. This place has been under military rule for over four months. For four months we had to salute our mayor because he was a friggin' three star general. We only had an election three months ago. For four months the military has been digging through your ex-boss' former administration. They replaced all top officials in City Hall and the police department. Hell, for four months the military _was_ the police. The army base outside of town has been expanded. Rumor has it they're even bringing in a full army tank brigade from Germany to be stationed nearby."

"They really don't want a repeat of the last time, do they?" Faith chuckled as she visualized tanks driving into demons, a pleasing visual image, then she downed her glass in one gulp. Meanwhile Willy put his hands on his bar and looked into Faith's face.

"Look, Faith," he said, "I don't think you came here to invade my privacy to ask about stuff you could have heard from just about anybody. What is it you wanted?"

Faith began to smirk as she leaned over.

"Well….."

x

* * *

x

For a guy who ruled Sunnydale for over a century Wilkins' grave looked pretty inconspicuous, Faith thought as she stood before his grave. Tucked away in an obscure corner in one of the lesser cemeteries of Sunnydale Faith had found the grave of her former boss. As by Willy's directions.

 **Richard Wilkins III**

Son of Mayor Richard Wilkins II and mayor of the town of Sunnydale from 1978 to 2000.

Not much of a life to show for, she thought as she reached out and touched the tombstone.

"Ahum," Faith said as she cleared her throat, then she looked around to see if they were alone.

"Hello boss," Faith said a little hesitantly, "It's been a while hasn't it, boss? No need to say hi or give me a hug. Come to think of it, I most definitely don't want either at this moment. After all, it's still Sunnydale, right?"

"Anyway, since I'm in the area I thought I'd come by and pay my respects. Sorry I wasn't there for you, boss. Sorry I got nabbed and left you to face the music alone. But I told you, be careful, didn't I? You should have known better after a century on the Hellmouth. Nothing good comes from saying stuff like everything goes as planned. Neither for the good guys or the bad guys."

"I want you to know that while I now know you're evil to the bone and I'm glad you lost I bear no ill feelings towards you, boss. You took care of me when I was in a sticky situation and you made me feel like me again. I felt I could be myself again when I was with you. So for that, thanks, boss."

"But you also made me do evil things. Kill people, manipulate them, spy on my friends. You used me, but I guess that comes with being a Slayer. But while I harbor no resentments I have to live with the consequences of what I did. You're gone, but I still have to face the music. That's the ropes I guess."

"I'm with a good guy now, boss. Although I'm technically still not sure if Jolly Green's a guy or a girl. Let's just say he takes good care of me, nor does he judge me. I guess it helps that he used to be evil himself once. So he knows how it feels. We have fun together, we kick each others ass, although he mostly kicks mine. But its all in good fun."

"Anyway, I guess this is our last goodbye, boss. I hope you're having fun wherever you are. Better then the fun having you, right? Goodbye, boss and farewell."

Faith took a step backwards and allowed herself to shed one tear, one tear to roll down her cheek for the man she once considered like a father.

"You can come down now, Jolly Green," she said without looking up. Behind her Piccolo floated down from the nightly sky until he touched down on the ground.

"Have you been following me for long?" Faith asked as she wiped away her tear.

"You know I never lose track of my students," Piccolo said gruffly.

"I bet you do," Faith said without looking back, "I know he's evil, Jolly Green. I know he used me. And yet…. Part of me misses him terribly. He was the first guy who made me feel like I belonged somewhere. Made me feel part of a family. There must be something wrong with me."

Piccolo reached out with a taloned hand and put it on her shoulder to give it a gentle squeeze.

"There is nothing wrong with how you feel, Faith," he said gently, "He's part of your past. Saying goodbye to it as you just did is a good thing. Way better then running away from it."

"I used to be very good at running away from my past," Faith said still staring at the tombstone.

"You can never run away from the past," Piccolo said, "you can only come to terms with it."

Faith turned her head and looked at Piccolo.

"For a guy who claims he doesn't do emotional you're rather good at it," she said.

Piccolo smiled and gently tapped his ears and then his eyes.

"These work, you know."

x

* * *

x

A-Day minus 254

x

The next day Faith and Piccolo made it to the Sunnydale Community Center. As they entered the building that once housed the original Committee in its basement they made it for the large Eastside hall. Inside Eastside hall the place was packed with people. Faith even spotted a few demons amongst the crowd, although they were well camouflaged.

They wanted to enter when two men stepped in front of them. One of them was dressed in a US Army military dress uniform. The other looked like he wore something straight out of a science fiction convention, holding a large staff with a scoop on the one end and a large bulbous swelling at the other. On his head however was a black tattoo of two upstanding feathers inside an oval circle.

"Good day, sir," the man in the US Army uniform said sternly but politely, "Could I see some invitations please?"

Piccolo halted and folded his arms across his chest.

"I'm on the list," he said gruffly. The soldier reached for a register list and picked it up.

"And who might you be?" the soldier asked dead serious. Upon which Piccolo rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"You know damn well who I am, Burns," he said a little aggravated, "so quite being an ass and go play being a toy soldier somewhere else."

"Sergeant-Major Burns, Piccolo," the soldier said as he tapped his rank insignia on his upper left arm with a pen, then he grinned, "I'm just making sure no one gets in who doesn't belong here."

"Whatever," Piccolo snorted. The sergeant-major then turned to Faith.

"And you must be Faith," he said, his jovial tone gone and replaced by a more stern one, accompanied by an equally stern frown, "do you have any last name, Miss?"

It was going to be a bloody long day alright.

"Just Faith," she replied curd. The soldier raised an eyebrow in response.

"Don't you have any parents, Miss?" he asked.

Faith looked up at Piccolo.

"Only one," she said as a smile grew on her face, "and he doesn't have a last name."

"Okay," Burns shrugged and he and the buffed up Sci-Fi nerd stepped aside so Faith and Piccolo could enter.

"Told you they would look funny at me," Faith muttered as they walked inside.

"Have a heart, kid," Piccolo replied, "he only knew you as the right hand girl of the mayor. And he was responsible for the death of sixteen of his friends. Six of which were mauled up so badly not even the Dragonballs could revive them."

"I see," Faith said dejected as she lowered her head. Again more of her past was here to haunt her. Piccolo saw her slump and halted.

"Hey," he said sternly, "whatever else you did, only the mayor's responsible for what happened to Burns' friends, not you. If Burns wants to be an ass, let him."

"If you say so," Faith replied, then she looked around, "Can you see them?"

Piccolo looked around, then he shook his head.

"They're not in here," he said, "they're probably in the garden outside."

There was at least one advantage of half the people in the room knowing you used to be the sidekick to a villain hell-bent on becoming a powerful demon. People got out of their way quickly as she made her way for the large doors that gave access to the gardens behind the community center. Then they stepped out in the sunlight of the Community Center gardens. She was going to see them again.

It was going to be hard. There would probably be recriminations, hard stares, accusations and general hard times. But there was at least one single light in the darkness. She was going to see Little Brother again!

She looked around the gardens. There were rows upon rows of white chairs in the garden. Some were occupied, but most of them weren't, with most of the guests still inside the community center. Or still arriving. An isle was left clear down the centre of the rows of chairs, leading to a small dais, surrounded by lots and lots of flowers.

"God, isn't it sickening," Piccolo said in disgust as he pointed towards the wedding grounds in front of him, "Love is such a sickening emotion. And to waste all such expense on a mere ceremony, it boggles the mind."

Faith looked at Piccolo.

"God, Jolly Green, I never figured you for a hopeless romantic," she said deadpan, "It's the wedding of B.'s mom to Big B., waddaya expect? If you don't like it, why did you drag me here in the first place?"

She knew the answer to that the moment she said it.

"Fine," she said imploringly, "Never mind, you don't like weddings. You're not the only one. Go get tanked up or something."

"I can't drink alcohol, remember," Piccolo said with a growing smile.

"Then go get one of those fancy schmancy mineral waters," Faith as she made a shooing motion, "go find your buddy Goku and play sidekick with him or something."

Piccolo looked at her. He didn't want to leave her alone. But by now he had gotten to understand her quite well. She was so much on edge she was practically broadcasting it with her chi. It made her push against the one person she trusted. Maybe it was better to get one of those, as she put it, fancy schmancy mineral waters. After all, Belmovekk knew about his tastes, he was sure to have provided for him in some way. And he could always keep an eye on Faith from a discrete distance.

"Since Goku's not here yet to play with I'll think I'll go find myself one of those fancy schmancy mineral waters," Piccolo said and walked away.

"You do that!" Faith called after him. Then she turned around and cursed inwardly.

Stupid stupid stupid!

Way to go, Faith! Why turn on Jolly Green when she could have really used having him around when she'd face B. and her friends? Why did she always do such stupid shit?

It was then that she saw her fellow Slayer and her friends.

x

* * *

x

"Unfriggin' believable!"

Faith sat with a look of pure flabbergastation on the stairs somewhere in the basement of the community center. Around her waiters and waitresses moved with trays of food and drinks which meant she sort of sat in the way. But she didn't care.

She had imagined meeting B. and her friends many times these past months. Played through countless scenarios in her head ranging from a Jerry Springer like shouting fest to dueling to the death. Never once did it occur to her that it would be just pure plain and undiluted awkward.

Everybody seemed to feel uncomfortable. No one seemed to make recriminations. They just seemed both pleased and uncomfortable at the same time. But the worst part was that Oz, Little Brother, her little brother, was gone. The one person in this whole sorry mess she actually did look forward to see was no more. Had left town for parts unknown and Red had traded him in for a timid little blonde. A blonde girl that is.

She never figured Red to be bent. B. on the other hand? Maybe if she had a few drinks inside her and removed that ramrod from up her ass…. And if the girl in question was a two centuries old vampiress with a soul. Then B. could possibly be a little bi-curious. But Red suddenly a full on carpet muncher? Little Brother had once told her Red had nursed a secret crush on the Xandman since, well, since forever. To switch that abruptly over from stick driving to carpet snacking though, it boggled the mind. Shouldn't you at least have a bi-curious phase beforehand?

No wonder Little Brother left town. At least that's why she figured he'd left. She never managed to get the full story as she excused herself and ran away to hide here in the basement where she was now.

And B.

Who'd figure that B. got herself a real living boyfriend? And one from the military to boot? B. had shown nothing but disdain for the military as far as she could tell. When Murray and his buddies had come to town she practically loathed the guys. But that could have been her usual charm.

"Are you alright?"

Faith looked up and saw a girl with a tray of filled Champaign glasses looking at her.

"I'm fine," Faith said after a deep sigh.

"Are you sure?" the girl asked, then she rolled her eyes, "Oh what do I care. My supervisor, some stuck up girl barely my age, wanted me to tell you to go sit somewhere else."

"I'm fine where I am right now," Faith replied curd.

"That's what I said," the girl echoed, then her eyes grew big, "Ohmigod! You're the other one aren't you?"

"The other who?" Faith asked wearily as she looked up towards this strange girl.

"The other Slayer," the girl said, then she used her free hand to snap her fingers, like she was trying to remember something, then her face lit up, "You're Faith right?"

To flabbergasted to say anything Faith just gazed at the girl. Who again snapped her fingers.

"Didn't you switch sides and go work for the mayor who wanted to be a demon?" the girl asked deadpan.

"You know?" Faith eventually gasped, but the girl waved her free arm dismissively.

"Of course I know," the girl said like it was the most common thing in the world, then she leaned over conspiratorially, "now I don't want to blow my own horn but I had a big part in the downfall of your former boss you know. If it weren't for me they would never have figured out even the most basic details of Ascension. You wouldn't believe how ignorant these people were I tell you. I…"

Faith looked with big eyes at the girl, then her brain kicked in.

"Who the fuck are you?" she asked incredulously. The girl looked slightly hurt at being interrupted, then she recovered.

"Anya," she said, "Anya Jenkins?"

Faith gave her the 'I don't have a clue who you are' look.

"Again, who the fuck are you?"

Anya rolled her eyes in exasperation, then she looked at herself with a hint of sadness.

"I wasn't always like this, you know," she said as she pointed to herself, "Condemned to work stupid minimum wage jobs for currency. I used to be someone. I used to be somebody. I used to be Anyanka."

Faith shook her head.

"Nope, still not ringing a bell here," she said. Causing Anya to shake her head incredulously.

"I don't believe it," she said flabbergasted, "I used to be one of the greatest and most feared vengeance demons, patron saint to scorned women."

Faith shrugged.

"Nope, still not ringing a be….," she said and then it hit her, "Now I remember. You're the one that brought B.'s evil twin into this world, Xander's love toy."

"Technically it was Willow Rosenberg who brought her into this realm," Anya quickly countered defensively, "I was….., looking for something else."

"Whatever, girl," Faith waved dismissively, "I wasn't there so officially I don't care."

Taking that as a sign she wasn't going to get ripped on for her part in the affair Anya relaxed considerably.

"I wish I'd gotten to know her better," Faith sighed wistfully, "B.'s evil twin always sounded like she was fun."

"Fun's relative," Anya said as she remembered the incident that definitively had cost her her demonhood, "I think she wanted to disembowel me with a knife. A very sharp knife."

"See?" Faith smiled, "Sounds exactly like my kind of fun." .

"Not when you're at the receiving end," Anya countered. Faith wanted to respond to that but decided not to.

"So you went from 'big-ass-snap-your-fingers-make-a-wish-demon' to being a teenage waitress?" she said instead, "It must suck to be you then?"

"You have no idea," Anya sighed dejected, "my work is demeaning, my boss an idiot and my colleagues imbeciles."

Anya said it out aloud just as two of her colleagues past them, shooting angry glances at her which she seemed to oblivious to notice. Faith did notice however.

"Wow, you must be a real hit at the office party," she said, but Anya just shrugged.

"If that was the worst of my problems I'd be lucky," Anya continued, "But I now have all these urges and problems I never used to have. Once a month my body hurts and bleeds in strange places. And when I see an good looking man I get the urge to interlock body parts with him. And yet when I suggest we interlock body parts they always run away or make excuses."

Faith had to do her utmost not to burst out laughing. She managed to contain it to a polite snigger.

"Was it something I said?" Anya asked curiously, but Faith shook her head. To make it up she even gave the former demon a few tips on how to dress to impress and which bars made for guaranteed pick ups. Which Anya found to be extremely helpful.

"Anya," Faith asked tentatively after that, "you've been in Sunnydale since my former bo…. Well, since the mayor got killed, right?"

"Tss, not by choice," Anya snorted, "if it weren't for your former boss' magic I'd skipped town long before. Trust me, I saw things that day I never want to see again. And I have seen some things in the time that I was a vengeance demon. And after the battle I couldn't leave because the soldiers took over."

"What happened here?" Faith asked curiously.

"Well, they defeated your former boss and destroyed half the town in the process. And I think the rest of the town got really lucky in that respect. And afterwards the soldiers came and they cleaned up the last of your former boss' cro…. "

"No, that's not what I meant," Faith interjected, "I meant, what happened to B.? What happened to Red? And where's Oz?"

"Of course I know," Anya said somewhat insulted, "I may be an ex-demon but I'm not stupid. I see things. And I still talk to people."

Anya leaned over again conspiratorially.

"You know, if you use demons to keep an eye on things, they also tend to keep an eye on you. You want, as they say, dirt? Here's the dirt. After her vampire boyfriend left town Buffy the Ice-princess went into uber-bitch mode and started to pick lots of fights with the new commander of the air force base. Well, you know how it goes. Love can turn to hate and sometimes if fate really wants to screw with you hate turns to love. We're still not sure when it happened but at some point they started to interlock body parts. Occasionally they still yell at each other though. I'm not sure why they do so. Whenever I yell at a guy after locking body parts they always run away."

"Now the Witch and the Werewolf broke up before that. Rumor has it they were arguing quite a lot already, with your name being mentioned a lot. Then some girl came to town and she turned out to be a werewolf as well. Well, you can imagine that when two werewolves are in the same town during a full moon body parts just are bound to interlock. They can't help it, it's in their blood."

Naturally they saw differently. She was angry with him, he was angry with himself. I've seen it happen countless times. Pretty soon after that they broke up and he left town to parts unknown."

Damn. Little Brother really had left Dodge completely. The one person she was hoping to see really wasn't there any more.

"Are you alright?" Anya asked, "you appear to be… disturbed. Are you day dreaming? I do that from time to time. Especially when Stacey keeps on blabbering, stupid cow thinks she's better then me just because she's an assistant supervisor. Who does she think she is? She's barely 18! If anything they should make me assistant-supervisor cause I'm..."

"ANYA!"

A blonde girl wearing an irate expression came towards them.

"Speak of the devil," Anya muttered under her breath.

"Why aren't you working, Anya?" the girl wearing, "We're swamped here and you're just gossiping here."

"I was talking, Stacy," Anya said, but Stacy wasn't impressed.

"You can talk in your break. Since you're not on your break and the company pays you $5.50 an hour you shut up and go deliver those drinks."

Anya wanted to say something but changed her mind. Instead she turned around and began to walk up the stair muttering something only Faith could hear, which sounded suspiciously like 'evil powerhungry teenaged shit for brains who should be lucky I'm no longer a vengeance demon or I'd show her the true definition of who was in charge'.

No sooner had she muttered those words as Anya bumped into Xander who was coming down the stairs. Losing her balance she fell backwards and it was only Xander's highly trained reflexes that caught both her and the tray of glasses from falling.

"Careful," Xander said as he steadied her and the tray and let go.

"You!" Anya said wide opened eyes, then without saying anything further she ran past him upstairs.

"Damn, that girl's everywhere," Xander muttered as he watched Anya leave hurriedly, "I can't turn into any place without running into her."

"Small town," Faith shrugged.

"I'd almost say that fate is messing with it," Xander said giving the former vengeance demon a brief glance, "if it weren't for the fact that both of them deny any involvement."

"You believe it?" Faith asked. To which Xander shrugged.

"One of them at least," he said, "So you're hiding in here now huh? I thought you were pretty spooked."

"It was, uh, kinda too much," Faith said slowly, "Everybody bends over backwards saying sorry. And yet…"

"….. and yet you don't feel like forgiving yourself," Xander said, then he reached out and patted her on the shoulder, "That's okay, Faith. I know the feeling. You're still with the rest of us. It's the power of guilt you know. It's what separates us from the bad guys and demons. We at least feel guilty of the bad things we've done."

Faith jumped up and straddled the wall with her back.

"Who are you and what have you done with Xander?" she said wearily.

"Haha, very funny," Xander said not very amused, "can we go now? Before we run into that crazy girl again?"

"Just lead on, boss," Faith said with thinly veiled amusement as she signaled for Xander to take them upstairs again. Giving her a brief glare Xander turned around and they went upstairs.

"So what's the deal with Red's latest fling?" Faith asked curiously, "Last time I checked Red was firmly into the Y chromosome. Why did she defect to big muff country?"

Xander looked over his shoulder.

"I figured you'd be more interested as to where Oz would be?" he asked but Faith shrugged.

"Me and crazy ex-demon chick covered that already," she replied, "You know, you really should be more careful. You guys are the talk of the town. The non-human part of it."

"Figured as much," Xander snorted, "Bastards are getting way too comfortable again. I think it's time to sacrifice a few more demons again. The tree of freedom requires regular waterings with demon blood."

"Amen!" Faith echoed.

"Says the girl who shacks up with the guy who can't stop saying he used to be the Demon King in about every sentence."

"Hey!" Faith protested, "leave Jolly Green out of it. He's cool!"

"Jolly Green?" Xander chuckled, "poor Pickles, forever destined to never hear his real name again. I guess he wished he never met any of us."

"Red. What's with Red's new girlcrush?" Faith said instead as they left the stairwell and walked past the weary looking sergeant-major. No sooner had they entered Eastside Hall again when they saw Willow come in from the other side, arm in arm with the object of Faith's curiosity.

"Tara's a nice girl," Xander said, "nice and a little timid. So be gentle. They met when a couple of weird demons came to town and took away our voices."

"How can they take away your voice?" Faith asked.

"Magic, what else?" Xander shrugged, "Those guys weren't that powerful. But damn were they big on the creepy. Bastards didn't even walk, they just floated above the ground. Thought they were invincible because they had taken our voices and only the screaming voice of a maiden could stop them. I guess they didn't count on what that crazy sergeant-major calls 'peace through superior firepower'."

The both of them chuckled.

"Funny how all those demons and mystical evils the Council scared us with no longer matter once you got enough power to blow up the planet," Faith said.

"Don't count them out though," Xander countered, "It seems like the supernatural has a funny way of keeping up with us, and the really powerful demons who used to ignore us are now taking interest. We have to be careful."

Faith smiled.

"No more 'I hunger for a true challenge', my, Xander you _have_ changed."

Xander shook his head dejected.

"Sometimes I think it's better for me to have made a wish to a vengeance demon then to have said those words," Xander sighed, then his face regained his old impish self as he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "If you really wanna laugh you should keep an eye on the Big Guy whenever he has to be near Will's girlfriend. It turns out that besides coming from the planet Krypton, Saiyans also come from the planet Redneck. I swear, every time the Big Guy has to give Tara a hand he acts like she could pass the ghey on to him."

"And he gets away with it?" Faith asked incredulously.

"Let's just say that if he could Tara would be in a different state right now," Xander chuckled, "the only reason she's here is cause Wills doesn't give a crap as to what he thinks in that regard, Buffy chewed his head off over it and Joyce just had to utter a single word."

"Which is?"

"Porch," Xander grinned, "God, it's like the universe itself stepped in to make sure every male Saiyan has an Achilles heel and it just so happens to have two X chromosomes."

Then his face turned serious for a moment.

"I wish I could say the same for female Saiyans though. They're way more dangerous and devious. They have no such weakness."

"How would you know?" Faith asked curious, "I thought there were only three Saiyan males left?"

"Long story," Xander said evasively.

DING.

A tall pendulum clock chimed after which many of the visitors began to move towards the garden.

"It's about to begin," Xander said and let out a nervous sigh, "How do I look?"

Faith looked him over, then she reached out and straightened his tie.

"Somehow you don't feel right without some casual shirt," she said somehow frowning.

"Formal occasions require formal attire," Xander shrugged stoically, "We can't all go to weddings in leather pants and tank tops."

"Hey, it takes a lot of effort to look this trashy," Faith objected, "Especially as there are no shops in the wilderness you know."

Xander didn't reply, he just smiled. Then he led the both of them to the garden.

You could say what you want about Mayor Wilkins, but in a way the Sunnydale Community Center was his departing gift to the town of Sunnydale. A beautiful building in part classical style with elaborate gardens behind it for people to recreate in (by day of course). And a very popular place for couples to get married in. Which made it all the more ironic for Faith that the Saiyan, his greatest enemy, had chosen this place to tie the knot in.

In the garden Faith could see Jolly Green as he stood with his friends. Goku was finally there, including a child and a dark haired oriental women, who were probably his wife and son. Two men, a small noseless guy and a large man with a wooly hat on stood with them. Then another man with a scar on his face joined as he dragged an old guy by the arm who was sporting a big lecherous grin. He had pervert written all over him. Scarface didn't look amused and pointed to small noseless and then to the old guy who was already eyeing another passing waitress. Apparently he was supposed to be on old pervert guy watching detail as well.

On the other side of the garden Faith could see some other familiar faces. She saw Murray standing there with his friends. No longer wearing his wooly hat but proudly donning the same Klingon armor she had seen on others like him. There was that old sour puss, Jack, in his blue dress uniform, looking ill at ease. There was the blonde major, also in blue. But the archeologist, Daniel, he wasn't there. Instead there were three others who Faith didn't recognize. There was a short portly man who by the looks of it was a very high ranking officer. Next to him was a red haired female officer. The only one not in a military uniform was a blonde haired man in civilian clothes who looked around him in absolute fascination, like he had never seen a human/alien wedding ceremony before.

"Look" Xander said as he halted as they had neared the rows of seats being filled, "Piccolo has said he'd rather not be seated, he's gonna watch from the sides. You could join him. Or if you'd like you could come sit with us."

Faith thought that over for a moment. It was tempting to stay with Jolly Green. It was safe, it was comforting. But the old Faith, she would have laughed at doing the safe comforting thing. The old Faith would jump into the thick of things just for laughs. And despite all of her faults the old Faith had some traits that were worth finding again.

Seeing that Jolly Green looked at her and nodded encouragingly Faith decided to take up Xander's offer.

"I'll sit with you guys," she said, be it with not much enthusiasm. Xander noticed her reticence but smiled encouragingly none the less.

"You can sit on the front row," he said, "just pick a seat."

"Uh, thanks," Faith said, then she made her way past some of the attendees on their way to their seats. One the front row Red's current girlcrush was already seated. For a moment Faith was tempted to sit next to her as she was a relative unknown. Another safe choice but she decided not to as she was sure Red would come and sit next to her.

Towards the end sat a lonely girl. And by the looks of it she was as ill at ease as she was, sitting a little slumped in her seat as she staring ahead bored.

Sensing a kindred spirit Faith sat down next to her. The girl briefly glanced towards her, then she resumed her bored stare.

"Hi," Faith said, "my name's Faith."

The girl again glanced briefly at Faith, then she resumed her stare. It was bordering on rudeness, but then again Faith had written the book about bluntness. So it didn't put her off. On the contrary, now her interest was aroused.

"Nice day for a wedding, huh?" she asked.

The girl briefly looked her way, then she looked away.

"Can I have your name?" Faith asked the girl.

"I have no name," the girl said flatly.

Okay, that was getting odd.

"Everyone has a name," Faith said. The girl glanced at Faith, then she gave a slight shrug.

"My name is not my own," she said in that same flat tone of voice, "I am but a shadow of a shadow."

Okay, now she really had Faith's interest and let her senses touch on the girl looking for anything weird. But at first glance then a set of impressive implants enhancing her more then ample bosom she seemed fully human. And yet….

"Then how do they call you?" she asked the blonde girl as she turned her senses from passive to active scan. Then the girl looked towards Faith and she could see into her eyes at the same time as she was sensing. And she recoiled in horror as the girl replied.

"Angela."

x

* * *

x

"And if there is anyone here today who will voice an objection, let him speak now or forever hold his breath."

Isn't that amazing, Faith thought as she briefly looked around herself and saw some others do the same. Some people do watch way too much television and expect the cliché objector to come forward at this moment.

Then again it had been a strange wedding.

With Big B. being an alien she had expected some weird alien shit be part of the ceremony. Some weird alien ritual or custom that had to be addressed. Like the bride and groom having to ceremoniously fight through the ranks of their best friends together. Or the shedding of blood. Or some other strange test.

Instead it was as normal as any other Earth wedding.

Be it that there just were a lot of aliens present instead. Goku, Jolly Green, Murray's friends. Oh, and the bride and groom skipped on having any best man or bridesmaids. With B. having to play both roles on her own.

"Turns out Saiyans aren't that keen on the whole best man concept," Xander had explained when she asked him about it, "They know it exists in other cultures but they tend to be a competitive lot. They probably feared that anyone not chosen as best man would challenge the best man to a duel to the death. Or so the theory goes."

"Then why's B. up there?" Faith had whispered.

"Compromise, somebody has to deliver the rings," Xander shrugged, "besides, there's still a little surprise in stall for her. You just watch."

"Ooh, I love surprises," Faith began to grin conspiratorially, "Especially when they don't happen to me. You in on something?"

"Let's just say I have a little unique insight about Saiyans," Xander said sly as he tapped his forehead, "Comes in handy from time to time."

It took her a few moments before it clicked in her brain. But then again, the possession had happened a long time before she had come to town. And when she had come to town listening had never been her strong suit.

Another person who was even worse at listening was Xander's new girlfriend. She didn't pay attention to anything. You could probably have the Darth Vader marching band with Wookie percussionists play hail to the chief with Captain Kirk and Spock singing soprano and the girl would just sit there looking bored.

Which meant she was exactly like his previous girlfriend.

Except that one didn't know when to shut up. Once she got going there was no stopping the ditz. At least this one hardly said a word. So technically that meant Xander had traded himself upward.

That is if you ignored that the girl gave Faith the creeps. Big time! And that said something from a girl who had been on the run from a vampire master and been in the service of a demon-wannabe magician.

When she probed the girl it felt like she was peering into a vast bottomless chasm. One so deep you either recoil out of fear from falling in, or you just have to get closer and closer to the edge to get a better look. Where you start looking for pebbles to throw in so you can listen how long it takes for them to hit the bottom.

Only in this case once you peered into the abyss it felt like something was peering back at you. Something monstrous, something filled with raging anger, something…., something not nice. Something that would give both Kakistos and the Mayor nightmares and sent them cowering up the attic blubbering for their mother.

She would have jumped up and run screaming for Piccolo herself if it weren't for Xander returning and sitting between them. How he could stand to be with her, Faith had no idea. It made him the bravest man she ever knew though.

"Then by the authority vested in me by the state of California I hereby declare you husband and wife," the minister said in the present, "You may kiss the bride."

All the guests began to applaud as Big B. took B.'s mother in his arms and kissed her. And not quite to B.'s comfort either. Which was something Faith could understand. Seeing your parents make out was never something you wanted to see. Especially when it was your mother making out with somebody who wasn't really your father.

Faith had to admit though, B.'s mother looked radiant, positively happy. Good for her. She deserved some happiness.

Instead of the newlyweds taking the victory lap through the guests and returning to the community center Big B. let go of his wife and turned to B. Then he gestured her to turn around and face the guests. After which he took her by the shoulders.

"Let it be known to anyone that I, Belmovekk, son of Rabar, of house Movekk, Disciple of Aldur, recognize this girl, Elizabeth Anne Summers, as my own. Let no man or woman contest that from this day forward she is both my heir and daughter."

Buffy had survived the entire wedding unscathed when suddenly Belmo had asked her to turn around and face the crowd. And then he dropped his little bombshell onto her

Before she could turn around ask Belmo what the fuck, Faith fell from her chair laughing.

x

* * *

x

AN: _If you're wondering why Goku and his friends still don't know Bulma had been made pregnant by Vegeta, let's just say that after Belmo dropped her off somewhere on the other side of the universe, she's still too pissed off at him to attend his wedding. And Yamcha sure wasn't going to tell the others about it, not unless the evidence was right there in the face._


	3. Interlude If You Wear That Velvet Dress

**Interlude**

' **If You Wear That Velvet Dress'**

x

x

AN: _Originally this was part of chapter one, right between the last two scenes. But it just didn't feel right there. But I felt it had to be included in some form, even if it's not part of the overall story. The idea for this interlude was given to me by one of my clever readers, who suggested it in his review. I'm sorry if I forgot your name, but rest assured, your suggestion has been duly noted._

AN 2017: _For those who follow this story, if you're not getting any update messages, there appears to be something that sometimes goes wrong when I add a new chapter._

x

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x

A-Day minus 1045

x

With a shock Ferucca opened her eyes.

She should have been dead after what that whore had done to her. Instead she stood and breathed air again. By Priya, it felt good to be alive. First thing she did was get up from the ground she had been lying on and took stock of her surroundings.

It was clear that she was no longer on Tanjecterly. For it was night wherever she was now. And on Tanjecterly it had been daylight all day, every day. By the Goddess, she had missed the night on that foul place with its eternal sunlight.

As she looked around she appeared to be in some residential area that was miles above the disheveled mud holes and pigsties that were the standard on Tanjecterly. It was still a far cry from home but at least she was back in civilization.

Of some sort.

Because she recognized the place. The asphalt roads, the style of buildings. But above all, the levels of pollution she could almost taste in the atmosphere. As soon as she recognized the planet she was on her spirits sagged.

Earth?

By Priya, was her nightmare never going to end?

Was she still in that accursed dreamscape back on Tanjecterly with that whore Angela playing mind games with her?

"Damn you, whore," she cried out aloud, "Show yourself!"

There was no reply.

Then came the sound of a throat being cleared behind her.

"Ahum."

Lightning fast Ferucca turned around.

Only to come face to face with the last person she expected to see.

"Xander?" she said surprised as she faced the young man she'd left crippled back on Tanjecterly. He also looked different. The limp leg seemed gone, as the boy stood normal. He also looked less gaunt, like he had been well fed and exercised regularly again. And there were the clothes of course. Also markedly different from the rags he had worn on Tanjecterly.

"Hello, Ferucca," Xander said calmly, with just a hint of sadness..

"Are you real?" Ferucca asked hesitantly as she examined him closely, "I'm not dreaming?"

"No, Ferucca," Xander said sadly, "you're not dreaming."

"But how?" Ferucca asked confused, "I left you for dead?"

Xander shrugged.

"I got better."

Ferucca's looked at him bewildered. Then she reached behind herself and drew forth the blade Kahanthus and swung it at Xander's head.

"Only to have it blocked as somebody else stepped in and grabbed her hands.

"I don't think so, bitch," a voice said sneering to her right.

Ferucca glanced to her right and saw a blonde woman grin confidently at her.

"And who might you be?" she asked the newcomer.

"Hi," the blonde suddenly smiled in a very empty headed way, "I am Buffy, the Vampire Slayer."

"I've heard of you," Ferucca said back, "but aren't you really the vampire layer?"

The blonde girl looked at Xander accusingly.

"Xander?" she whined, "For god sakes, what have you been telling her?"

"Sorry, Buff," Xander shrugged apologetically, "I was in pain at the time. I couldn't always think straight."

Ferucca meanwhile tried to wrestle herself free but the blonde wasn't having any of it.

"Oh no you don't, sister," the blonde said as she effortlessly blocked every attempt of Ferucca to break free. Finally she had enough and elbowed Ferucca in the face. As Ferucca staggered back the blonde took away the blade Kahanthus.

"I'll take this," the blonde said, then she swung the blade around for a moment, her eyes lighting up.

"Nice sword," the blonde smiled, "Maybe I should ask your friend for a new sword as well. It's been a long time since I had one."

"Maybe a shorter one though," Xander said appraisingly, "a long broadsword doesn't really suit you."

The blonde turned around.

"You wouldn't accidentally have some extra swords lying around, would ya?," she said to someone else.

"I might have a few," new a voice said in response. And that's when Ferucca realized she really was in trouble.

x

* * *

x

(A little earlier that day)

x

It was just after 5 PM when Ethan Rayne decided to call it quits. For over a week now he had been selling costumes in this town, right under the very nose of Rupert. Hell, he had even sold them to his precious Slayer and her friends. What could trump that? He could go on for a little longer to really empty his stocks but he had had his moment of perfection. Anything after that was just decadence.

And besides, he had sold most of his inventory by now. By now three quarters of his costumes were gone.

He was about to move towards the door to close it when it opened and somebody stepped in.

Now if it had been just another kid Ethan would have just told the kid to go to Partytown's, as he had already sold enough costumes to children. But when he saw that his latest customer was an elderly man he decided not to. The vast majority of his costumes had been sold to children and teenagers His low prices had seen to that. But the vast majority of adults in this town preferred quality over pricing. Which meant that his chaos would be mostly demographically limited when unleashed. It might be cool to spread a little of it to a different demographic.

"Can I help you?" he asked his customer in his best shopkeeper tone of voice..

The customer looked around for a moment before answering.

"Mmm, I'm looking for a costume," the elderly man said tentatively.

"Then you've come to the right place," Ethan said as he put on his best shopkeeper smile as well, "Although I have to say that at the moment stocks are low. After all, it's almost Halloween."

"That's alright," the elderly man smiled, "I know exactly what to look for."

"Is it for yourself?" Ethan asked hopeful, he might have a few costumes left that would appeal to the elderly adults. After all, those were the ones the kids and teenagers had mostly shunned.

"No," the elderly man said shaking his head, "I need something for a young woman."

Ethan managed to hide his disappointment well as the smile never left his face. Such was the nature of chaos. Wild and unpredictable. A chaos mage therefore had to roll with both the good and the bad. Overall it balanced out though.

"I take it it's for a grandchild then?" Ethan smiled.

"In a fashion," the elderly man smiled back.

"I have to warn you though, the local youth has been buying most of those costumes like mad," Ethan said, "so choice might be a little limited."

"How about that one?" the elderly man said and pointed to a costume hanging on the wall.

That was weird.

On the wall hung a costume of almost exquisite quality. A chain mail armor that seemed part metal, part unknown composite. It was too small to fit a man or a large teenage boy, although a smaller one could probably fit in it. And way too good in quality to still be here. There had been at least a dozen girls in here looking to be Xena and at least three times the number of boys wanting to be some fantasy hero straight out of Lord of the Rings, or Dungeons and Dragons.

That aside Ethan was at least 99% sure there was no way he had put it up there to begin with. And he was 100% sure no such item even existed in his inventory.

Still, without blinking an eye, Ethan began to extol the virtues of the costume.

"As you can see the costume is made of an almost exquisite craftsmanship. For all intents and purposes it looks like you could actually put it on and go into battle with. Although in your case I would advise against it, cause as you can clearly see, it is not made for the likes of you and I. Like I said, the quality and fine craftsmanship alone that go into making this costume are…"

"I'll take it," the elderly man said resolutely. For the first time Ethan raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the elderly man, then at the costume and then back towards the elderly man again. Something fishy was going on here. He wanted to ask a question but the man smiled just friendly at him. So instead he took the costume from the wall. Only to get eyes big as saucers as he saw the price ticket.

Holy shit. Now he knew something was wrong. He knew he was selling his inventory at below cost prices but even he wouldn't sell a costume of this craftsmanship for this low.

"Is there something wrong?" the man asked amused, but Ethan shook his head.

"Just the pain of parting with such an exquisite collection item," Ethan replied as he walked to his cash register, "after all, parting can be such sweet sorrow."

"True words indeed," the man agreed as Ethan put the costume on the counter. As he entered the ridiculously low price in the machine he looked at the man again.

"Can I get you something else, something for yourself perhaps? We still have some costumes left that would befit you."

The man smiled and slowly shook his head.

"I am too old to be running around all dressed up for Halloween," the man smiled, "it is after all a young person's holiday."

"Suit yourself," Ethan shrugged, "Can I get you something else instead? Some accessory perhaps?"

"How about that sword?" the man said as he pointed towards the wall behind Ethan.

"What sword?" Ethan said as he turned his head around only to be shocked. On the wall behind him was a large blade of pure blue metal with a handle inlaid with plaques of ebony and terminating in a large red ruby cabochon. Tentatively Ethan took the sword of the wall and noticed it was way lighter then it looked. This was a real quality blade, one that would fetch high prices on at least half a dozen black markets he knew off. This was near four feet of sheer deadliness he was holding in his hands, most definitely not a prop. And something he most definitely didn't put up for sale in his own shop.

"If you could wrap it up that would be helpful," the elderly man said. Upon which Ethan looked at him wearily.

"Who are you?" he asked, his shopkeeper tone of voice gone.

"Just a customer," the elderly man shrugged, then he took out a wallet and began taking out bills of cash, "now, how much for the costume and the sword?"

"Customer my arse," Ethan said as he raised his voice as he slammed the sword on the counter, "Something's fishy is going on here."

The elderly man tried to smile but it lacked his earlier confidence.

"If you don't want to wrap it up, that will be fine as well," he said but Ethan shook his head.

"Not going to happen, pal," Ethan said. The old man sighed and looked downwards. When he looked up again the nervousness was gone and steel shone from his eyes.

"I think you will sell me those items," the old man said sternly, "they are mine after all."

"My shop, my rules," Ethan said undeterred, still holding the sword, "possession is 9/10th of the law. And the law says I can refuse sale to whomever I like. Now if you were black, gay or Hispanic you might get some bleeding hearts to come to your cause but since you're not I think it might be best if you were to leave my premises."

The old man leaned on the counter, then he looked at the door and with a loud click its locks went shut. Before Ethan could react the old man raised a hand and began to draw something in the air. In the wake of his drawing finger a glyph of power began to take shape, burning in a fiery golden glow. Seeing the glyph take shape Ethan dropped the sword on the counter and inadvertently took a step backwards.

Holy crap! Glyphs of power were relatively harmless but it took considerable skill to create them, denoting that their creators were exceptionally capable magic practitioners. The business card of the crème de la crème in magic as it were. If he had a few hours and all the right ingredients Ethan could do a convincing one himself. But never with the ease and sheer casualness like the old man in front of him. So again, holy crap!

"I'm sorry," Ethan said both hurriedly and apologetic as he reached for his role of wrapping paper, "Forgive me, I did not know."

"That's alright," the old man said as his good humor returned, "misunderstandings can happen."

Ethan stopped wrapping the sword for a moment and looked at the old man.

"Are you here to take over?" he asked almost mournfully. He knew when he was outclassed and if this old man so desired there was little he could do to stop him.

"I wouldn't dream with interfering with your little pleasures," the old man smiled, "especially one that is so…., original shall we say?"

Ethan smiled at the compliment.

"Really? I must confess a lot of thought went into it."

"I don't doubt it," the old man said as he took hold of the sword and costume, "now if you excuse me, I have to go."

"Of course," Ethan said, then his face turned serious again, "If I may ask, if you're not here to take over, why are you here?"

"Piggyback ride," the old man smiled, "you're little prank offers me a great opportunity to advance my own interests."

"I see," Ethan said. He wasn't completely put at ease by the old man's cheerful behavior. The magic profession tended to be loaded with people who would sell their own mother if it meant being able to do a new spell. Or a powerful yet casual done glyph of power. If the old man was weaseling in on his operation there was little he could do about it.

"Now I bid you good day," the old man said as he walked towards the door and tried to open it. Only to find that it was still locked.

"Clumsy me," the old man chuckled as he waved a free finger and the door unlocked itself again. Then he stepped outside.

Ethan let out a deep sigh after the old man was gone. Maybe he should abort his plans and skip town? Cut his losses and run? Then he looked at the still glowing glyph of power still floating in the air.

Some magic users used glyphs of power as a salesmen handed out business cards. In which case they incorporated a symbol that denoted who they were. Others used them to show off their power and made something flashy and elaborate but without any identifying symbols. The old man clearly fell in the last category. Still, to leave one glowing this long after they were gone was flashy.

Yup. It looked like leaving town looked more and more appealing.

But then Ethan looked the glyph over one more time. While the mark carried no recognizable mark associated to any of the known powerhouses of magic it was crafted in a style that seemed almost…. ancient. The style was one that was exceedingly rare these days. In fact Ethan was sure few people still remembered the Elder Isles. The long lost Elder Isles that now lay sunken underneath the Atlantic Ocean and whose legend had blended into that other sunken land legend, the Greek legend of Atlantis.

But Atlantis, like Troy, was an ancient Greek legend that dealt with the fall of the Minoan/Mycean civilization almost a thousand years before the rise of the Classical Greek civilization. It had little to do with the Elder Isles. The lands of magic and mystery that were once to the southwest of England and south of Ireland and disappeared in the darkest days of the middle ages.

But Ethan remembered. For his grandmother was from Cornwall, the most Southwestern part of England where rumor had it many survivors of the Elder Isles had settled. His fascination with her stories of kingdoms where kings and nobles dueled, where fairies and other mythical folk roamed and some of the mightiest magicians the world had ever seen had dwelt as well. It was what had interested Ethan to learn about magic in the first place, long before he had met Rupert.

And he knew that there was one magician from the Elder Isles that still lived. One whose obsession with not interfering in the order of things meant he kept to himself. But not averse to hitching a ride to someone else's work if it meant no interference in the order of things.

As the glyph finally began to fade Ethan began to smile again. In a way he had just met one of his childhood heroes. As he walked towards the door to close the shop it seemed like he was going to have his fun after all.

x

* * *

x

Outside an old but pristine Ford Thunderbird convertible stood by the sidewalk, seemingly unoccupied as the elderly man walked up to it.

"Why are you hiding in there," he asked as if he was addressing some invisible occupant.

"Isn't it obvious, Doc," a voice replied from inside the car, "I'm hiding."

"From who?" the old man said as he put the costume and sword in the back of the car. A shaggy haired head peered up from behind the seats and nervously looked around.

"Cordelia," Xander said shiftily, "her car just drove by. Can't risk a temporal paradox now can we, Doc?"

"You watch way too much television," the old man chuckled, "it doesn't work like that."

"You sure, Doc?" Xander asked as he checked a corner just to be sure, "Cause that's not what they say in Star Trek."

The old man gave Xander a stern look, then shook his head.

"Who are you going to trust? Some stupid TV show or the foremost expert in dimensional portals through time and space?"

Xander looked at Shimrod like he still wasn't sure. Sure Shimrod was the guy who breathed portals through time and space. But television had raised him since he had been a small kid. Basically taught him everything he knew up to the point that he had met Buffy and the G-man. Okay, so Shimrod may know his stuff, he begrudgingly admitted. But almost running into past Cordelia was rattling. If only because it was, well, Cordelia.

While Xander grappled with his inner temporal doubt Shimrod sat down in the passenger seat.

"Now may be a good time to drive back to your friend," the magician smiled. Xander glanced at the mage, then he started the car and drove away.

"I still can't see why we just can't use one of your portals to return to Buffy," Xander grouched.

"Still afraid to run into your lady friend again?" Shimrod replied pert, "Like I said, do not worry. Time will not go wry when you see her or your friends."

"So meeting Cordelia may not rip apart the time continuum," Xander said as he took a corner, "but she's way smarter then she looks. All the others thought she was a ditz but she notices things. And when she puts two plus two together…."

"Time is not like that," Shimrod countered, then he pointed towards Xander's head, "for instance, do you remember you or your friend seeing your future selves at this point in history?"

"Uh, no," Xander admitted.

"There you have it," Shimrod said triumphantly, "you never ran into her or your past self. If you did you would remember. Since you do not, it will not happen."

"So you mean time is like Babylon 5's War without End?" Xander asked, "where you go back to set things in motion that otherwise wouldn't have happened?"

"You watch way too much television," Shimrod responded gloomily, then he shook his head. Upon which Xander glanced at the mage.

" _I_ watch too much television?" he snorted, "says some 1500 year old pervert who watches porn DVD's of my sort of girlfriend?"

"Touché," Shimrod chortled.

"So how did it go?" Xander asked, "I see you got the goods back."

"Could be better," Shimrod replied, "the Sandestin was sloppy. Way too sloppy. It placed the sword and the outfit in Ethan's shop alright, but it was a bit too gaudy in its display, causing Ethan to suspect something's afoul."

"That's bad, right?" Xander asked nervously again, "what if he doesn't perform that spell? It could change history and…."

"Now what did I say about temporal causality again, young man," Shimrod said chiding, "since events unfolded as they did history is not changed."

"Then why skulk about?" Xander countered as he steered the car out of town,  
"if nothing we do affects the past why not be blazing about? Why do we even have to wear these amulets."

Xander put a hand on a small silver pendant hanging on a thin silver chain around his neck.

"It's complicated," Shimrod said back, "just because time has a certain flexibility does not mean it cannot be derailed. I do not use portals because this town has a powerful warlock mayor who could notice them. We wear those amulets so your Saiyan friends won't notice us. Time will forgive a casual glance, my young friend, but it cannot ignore blatant evidence staring it in the face. Your female friend might have seen you and think strangely of it. But she will dismiss it as some trick her mind was playing on her. We do that all the time. Maybe even you. Who knows what you have casually dismissed in the past that may have been real."

"You mean time travel is that common?" Xander yelped as he felt a rising panic take hold of him again.

"Just drive the car," Shimrod sighed dejected.

x

* * *

x

(Fast return forward a few hours again)

x

"Oh no you don't," the blonde said as she effortlessly blocked every attempt of Ferucca to break free. Finally she had enough and elbowed Ferucca in the face. As Ferucca staggered back the blonde took away the blade Kahanthus.

"I'll take this," the blonde said, then she swung the blade around for a moment, her eyes lighting up.

"Nice sword," the blonde smiled, "Maybe I should ask your friend for a new sword as well. It's been a long time since I had one."

"Maybe a shorter one though," Xander said appraisingly, "a long broadsword doesn't really suit you."

The blonde turned around.

"You wouldn't accidentally have some extra swords lying around, would ya?," she said to someone else.

"I might have a few," a new voice said in response. And that's when Ferucca realized she really was in trouble as the magician Shimrod stepped into view.

"Shimrod!" she exclaimed.

"Ferucca, Ferucca," Shimrod said shaking his head, "you have been a very naughty girl."

"Bad girl?" Xander said incredulously, "Dare I say crazy bitch? I think I do."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Ferucca said as she rubbed her face where Blondie had hit her, "So I pissed off a few people, been there, done that, gotten the flexi-armor."

"I don't believe it," Xander said angry, "you still feel no remorse, do ya?"

Ferucca closed her eyes for a moment, then looked at Xander.

"Well, what did you expect? Shimrod took me from the dead, stuck me in a living body again and you expect me to roll over, play nice and die again? Get real! I saw an opportunity, I took it. If you're expecting an apology, go fuck yourself. I'm only sorry that I failed."

"You crazy Saiyan bitch!" Xander yelled and almost accosted Ferucca if it weren't for Shimrod stepping in.

"No need to resort to violence," Shimrod said imploringly, "that's not what we're here for, remember?"

"Bitch got Fisk and Liana killed," Xander muttered angrily.

"Like you cared," Ferucca snorted, "You and Fisk were always arguing over everything."

"You had him fucking castrated," Xander yelled angry, "any argument I may have had with him before becomes moot if you rip away the guy's family jewels."

Ferucca looked at Xander again and a very self-satisfying smirk grew ever bigger.

"I think you're just pissed off because I fooled you," she smirked, "you were always going on how you were always the one who catches on to the bad guy, how you see things the others don't, how you always knew that Deadboy guy was up to no good. Mister All-Seeing-Eye! And yet a simple Saiyan girl outsmarted you."

Xander looked like he wanted to jump and strangle her but decided not to. Instead Blondie spoke up.

"You really are one crazy bitch, lady," Blondie said awestruck, "you make Faith look like she could be cover model for Sanity Fair."

"Spare me your platitudes, so-called Slayer," Ferucca said in annoyance towards the blonde girl, "You can walk in my shoes for all your life and still not understand why I do what I do and why I did what I had to do."

"Yadayadayada I'm so misunderstood, yadayadayada," the blonde said dismissively as she rolled her eyes, "you bad guys are so predictable."

"Well, what do you want to hear then?" Ferucca asked the Slayer.

"I don't know," Buffy shrugged, "how about…, because I'm a crazy evil bitch?

"How about…. You're a crazy bitch?" Ferucca said unrepentant to the Slayer, then she turned to Shimrod, "Why am I here?"

Before the mage could answer and before Buffy could mutter 'takes one to know one' an explosion could be heard in the distance. Ferucca turned her head aside and saw the lights of a average sized town shining in the distance. A series of flashes could be seen coming from a suburb. Somebody was using chi attacks down there. Saiyan chi attacks.

"What by the seven hells is going on down there?" she asked, "Somebody's using chi attacks down there. Saiyan chi attacks."

"Uh, that might be me," Xander said sheepishly as he raised a hand.

"But you're here?" Ferucca said surprised. Then her eyes grew big as saucers.

"It's that night, isn't it? The one you told me about," Ferucca said out loud, then she looked down and noticed that her flexible armor was sporting way more curves then it should have, on her chest that is.

"Oh, for the love of the Goddess, what have you done to me?" she exclaimed in horror.

"In a way it is poetic," Xander said calmly, "Shimrod stuck Angela into your body and you took over. Now we've stuck you into hers and… "

"YOU BASTARDS!" Ferucca as she began to struggle against Buffy's hold on her.

"Time to go, Ferucca," Xander said as Shimrod pulled out a bag and opened it to take out various magical implements, "we're going to drive you out like a bad smell."

"NO!" Ferucca yelled as she used her chi to get free. But while her power was considerable by the standards of planet Vegeta they failed to impress Buffy.

"Easy lady," Buffy said as even she had to struggle to hold the desperately straining Saiyan, "you're gonna die anyway once Giles smashes the statue."

"I hate you, Xander," Ferucca hissed, locked helplessly in Buffy's iron grip, "for hate's sake I curse you. I call upon the power of the Seven Hells of Jerherherod to grant me my vengeance. May they curse you into the thousandth generation! May you…."

"Don't bother, Saiyan bitch, I'm already cursed," Xander said unimpressed, "now shut up! The power of Christ compels you!"

Xander pretended he was sprinkling her with holy water but when he touched her forehead a glimmer of light suddenly erupted from her.

And then she erupted in a hurricane of flames.

"You just had to say it, don't you!" Buffy said accusingly before the flames blocked out everything.

x

* * *

x

In the skies above Sunnydale Belmovekk the Saiyan floated above the town now in chaos. Things were now set in motion that could no longer be undone. Ugly things. Things that might backfire against him and his purpose. But he felt they had to be done.

When he had come to this town he had found the girl by accident. Not only did she intrigue him, stir emotions he hadn't felt in a long time, he also felt pity for her fate. It was then that the decision was born that he would make Sunnydale his base of operations and in doing so take the girl under his wings to help her as best as he could, within the limits of the mission of course.

It was then that the boy presented himself to him as well.

In a sense he took even greater pity on the boy then he did on the girl. For he understood the pain of unrequited love all to well himself. The pain of being near the object of one's affection and she not taking any notice. The driving force that propelled the boy to put himself in harms way even though he stood no chance at all. It was a sentiment Saiyans admired greatly and inspired many an epic tale. So he allowed the boy to attend training as well.

Of course the boy stood no chance in hell to undergo a Saiyan training regime. At best he could do the Auxiliary program. And he was gearing the boy for that when he had that fateful chat with the boy in the park. And things changed.

In a rare act of revelation one of the two Necessities had revealed to him an ugly plan of a Chaos magician's evil plot to cause massive chaos to this town. It should be something he would have to put a stop to it. Instead it told hem to make use of it to strengthen the boy.

That was the moment Belmovekk realized these kids weren't just some diversion to keep him occupied while he helped Goku and his friends. These kids _were_ the reason he was sent here. They were the fighters he was supposed to help. And if that was the case, then he should use every means at his disposal to give them a fighting chance to help fight the coming darkness. Be that Gero's androids, something linked to them or beyond even that.

The Saiyan mind not suffering from brain damage as an infant is an amazing thing. Where most humans take a long time to reconcile themselves that a given course is no longer working, may actually be counter productive to continue, Saiyans can reach such a decision in a split second. In a split second Belmovekk not only realized that these kids were his real charges, he also accepted that what the Necessity was proposing was, while despicable, also necessary. It was the only way for the boy to grow into his destiny.

So in that split second he decided to risk everything and allow this town to be plunged into chaos. After the boy had given his assent of course. In a fashion. After all, he wasn't a complete monster.

The workings of the chaos mage had been interesting to observe as his spell took hold of the town. Many young children turned into the monsters they were dressed as and while he tried his best to keep the death toll low, he couldn't be everywhere and not lose sight of his charges at the same time. Unleashing a Saiyan elite in this town was risky but he had to have faith that the Necessity told the truth that no harm would flow from him.

Luckily the other friend of the Slayer stepped up to the plate. While incorporeal she managed to keep the boy under some form of control.

And then the vampire called Spike intervened. Master Giles had told him vampires and demons usually held themselves aloof on this day but it would seem nobody had told Spike that as he sought to exploit the situation as well. To bad for him the situation wasn't as exploitable as he thought, as the boy turned Saiyan elite was now chasing him across town. He hoped the boy would catch up with the vampire and rid them of what looked like a very troublesome foe.

All seemed well when suddenly his scouter lid up like a Christmas tree. For an instant it seemed like the night sky would erupt in flames when the phenomenon disappeared as rapidly as it had come. Belmovekk turned to the north-east, to the forested hills that lay there. Something had happened there. For an instant it seemed like a massive burst of chi had erupted and then disappeared, going off the scale. Just for an instant.

Belmovekk adjusted his scouter to scan for ultra sensitive chi emissions. He was taking a risk, as another burst might cause an overload, but he felt it was necessary. For the burst had every sign of it being Saiyan in nature. And it couldn't be the boy because he was chasing the vampire in the other side of town.

Was there another Saiyan in the area?

It couldn't be Goku or Vegeta. Just moments before his scouter had shown them to be in China and San Francisco respectively. Damn, this night was getting weirder by the minute. In ultra-sensitive mode his scouter didn't pick up any large chi signature. That is, no permanent one. But whenever he looked in a certain north-easterly direction he did notice that the scouter went up and down a few points, like somebody there was really, really masking their chi.

He was about to go off and investigate when a voice spoke in his mind.

" _You will do no such thing."_

" _But…..,"_ he tried to respond but the Necessity cut him off.

" _Certain things are being put into motion that need to be put into motion. Yours is not the only one taking place. Leave it be. Besides, you have bigger problems on your mind."_

He was about to protest when his scouter went off again. Belmovekk tapped his scouter to switch back to a lower but wider setting and realized that he had indeed bigger problems.

The others were on their way. Goku had used his instant transmission to teleport him and the Namek to Hawaii and together with his short human friend were on a low intercept course. Vegeta on the other hand was making for Sunnydale with full guns blazing and would be here in minutes.

What was it that Master Giles was so fond of saying at such times?

"Oh dear."

x

* * *

x

"You just had to say it, don't you!" Buffy said accusingly before the flames blocked out everything. For a moment everything turned to gold, then a shockwave hit her, sending her away flying.

Just as fast as the shockwave sent her away flying, she crashed into what felt like a brick wall. Only brick walls no longer felt like they used too. In fact nowadays they felt more like papier-mâché when you crashed into them. But hey, you had to call an indomitable wall something, right? Wouldn't do to call it the indomitable wall of invisible strength capable of stopping a chi supercharged Slayer. Even if that was what it was.

Somehow an invisible barrier had been erected between the eruption coming from Porno Saiyan and the town. Which was probably for the best because Porno Saiyan was emitting some serious juju. She was surrounded by a helix of golden energy, swirling around her as she stood motionless, frozen in a silent scream.

"What on Earth is happening here, Gandalf?" Buffy yelled to make herself heard above the noise.

"I erected a barrier to contain the phenomenon," Shimrod's voice called from the other side of what he euphemistically called 'the phenomenon', "No need to thank me. I managed to freeze time for two days and work on a containment field to shield us from the town. I'm fairly sure it went unnoticed down there thanks due a chameleon field I also erected to….."

"I didn't mean your fancy force field, Gandalf, I'm talking about volcano girl here," Buffy called out pointing to Porno Saiyan, then something sank in, "what do you mean you froze time for two days?"

"Quit showing off your temporal shenanigans, Doc," Xander yelled towards the mage, "were you able to drive Ferucca out?"

"I wish I could claim merit but except for laboring two days solid to come up with the containment and chameleon fields none of this is my doing," the mage said back, "this all happened when you struck her."

"XANDER!" Buffy yelled angry, "you just had to do something stupid!"

"I'm sorry, Buff," Xander said, "I, uh, um…."

And then the shit really hit the fan.

x

* * *

x

High in the skies over Sunnydale Belmovekk and Vegeta were in the middle of a shouting match when suddenly Belmovekk's scouter peaks again and the Saiyan looks to the northeast again.

"Hello, my eyes are here, Movekk," Vegeta said pointing to his face, angered by the Saiyan's rude behaviour of ignoring his royal presence in the middle of his speech.

"I am sorry, my prince," Belmovekk said apologetic, "my scouter noticed something."

"It's amazing it can pick up anything in this disgusted soup," Vegeta growled as he folded his arms across his chest, "now, about the boy…."

He didn't sense that, Belmovekk thought, the great Prince of all Saiyans who claims he can sense anything without a scouter nowadays didn't sense that for a brief noticeable moment somebody or something just went Ozaru in those hills.

Belmovekk glanced briefly towards the hills.

I just hope those Necessities know what they are doing.

x

* * *

x

"There's something you don't see every day," Buffy said almost absentminded as she took a step backwards. In fact it was more then just a single step. Quite a lot of steps actually as Porno Saiyan suddenly ceased being volcano girl and stopped spewing energy into the air. Instead she threw up her arms into the air and began to grow in statue.

As she did her hands turned into sharply nailed claws, her legs grew a little shorter and apelike and her face…. It began to grow a large snout.

"Oh shit," Xander muttered aghast, "what have I done?"

"Ozaru," Shimrod said both horrified and spellbound, "I've heard about it but this is the first time that I've seen it happen up close."

"This might be a good time to watch it from a distance, Gandalf," Buffy said as she jumped next to the mage and put her arms around his waist so she could lift him to safety, "trust me, there's not a whole lot of control left in them at the best of times and if Porno Saiyan's in charge you don't want to be here."

She was about to lift off when Xander gestured her to wait.

"Wait!" he said pointing to the still growing Ozaru, "Look at her fur."

"Yeah, it's blonde," Buffy said, "so what? Can we go now?"

"Saiyans don't turn into blonde Ozaru," Xander countered, "Belmovekk turned into a dark brown one, remember? Ferucca also turned dark brown in Tanjecterly."

Buffy gave Xander an incredulous look.

"Hello, Earth to Xander, Angela was a blonde, Belmo's not. He told me there were no blonde Saiyans. If there were I'm sure there were some yellow haired Ozaru as well."

Now Shimrod also gestured Buffy to wait.

"Your friend may be right though, Buffy," the mage said, "in fact, if what he thinks is the same thing I am thinking….."

"ROOOOOOAAAAARRRR!"

With a load roar the golden Ozaru had reached its full stature, then it began to glow in a equally golden glow and belched up a ball of blue fire and shot it into the air where it dissipated high in the sky.

As it did Buffy could almost swear she heard a scream of frightened desperation.

As soon as the ball of fire had disappeared in the sky the Ozaru looked at the gathered threesome standing at its feet.

"Angela?" Xander said almost mournfully as he took a step towards the beast.

For a moment the beast didn't react. Then it spoke in a low rumbling voice.

"XANDER?"

Before anyone could react the glowing golden Ozaru began to shrink again, transforming back into a human shape as fast as the transformation originally had taken place, until all that remained was Angela's body, resting on one knee, panting heavily as a golden glow surrounded her body, her hair waving gently back and fro in the stream of unseen energies..

"Angela!" Xander yelled as he ran towards her to help her. Dropping on his knees he took hold of her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. Those cold blue green Super Saiyan eyes. The very color that had so many shaking in their boots.

But Xander was no stranger to Super Saiyans. So the cold blue green stare didn't frighten him. Cause for the first time in a long time there was intelligence behind her eyes. And not the malicious indifference that characterized Ferucca. There was love in her eyes again.

"Xander?" Angela said tentatively, "is it really you?"

"It is, Ange," Xander said smiling. Next thing he knew she almost crushed him as she leapt around his neck.

"XANDER!" Angela yelled, then she buried her face on his shoulder, "I thought I was never going to see you again."

"Not half of much as I did," Xander said, his face turning red, "Ange, please….., breathing…., hard…"

" Oh, sorry," Angela smiled and let go so Xander could breathe. Buffy and Shimrod took this as their cue to give the two some privacy.

"I can't believe it," Buffy said incredulously as she watched the two from a distance, "She really is a Super Saiyan. I couldn't believe it when I heard it, Belmo couldn't even believe it. And somehow she is. How does she do it?"

"It boggles the mind, I have to admit," Shimrod said equally puzzled, "maybe the spell did transform her into a Saiyan body."

"But Gandalf, she barely registers as a Saiyan," Buffy said pointing to Angela, "Belmo told us you had to be pretty powerful to become a Super Saiyan. He also said nothing of becoming a big giant ape also."

"Then maybe there is more then one way to become a Super Saiyan, my dear Buffy," Shimrod shrugged, "admittedly my knowledge of Super Saiyans is virtually non-existent. To be honest, until your friend told me of them I did not even knew they existed. And while I doubt your teacher is a bit more of an expert on the matter I would not be so presumptuous to think there is only one way to skin a cat."

"I suppose," Buffy nodded.

Meanwhile Xander and Angela were still embracing each other.

"Xander, how can this be?" Angela asked, "this is Earth. Why aren't we on Tanjecterly?"

"Ssssh," Xander said as he tried to stroke her head through the upstanding hair, "lets just say it's a kinda magic. Shimrod, you remember Shimrod, right? He did this. You're safe now."

"Did we make it?" she asked, "Did you succeed in the quest? I remember so little after what happened in the Citadel."

Xander bit his lip and looked down. He didn't have the heart to tell her it had all been for in vain.

"We did, Ange, we did. We made it back. Fisk and Liana, they're alright. And Shimrod did his thing."

"Is that her?" Angela asked nodding towards. Xander glanced over his should towards Buffy.

"Yep, that's her," he replied as he smiled softly, "the one and only. Accept no substitute."

"Does that mean you will be leaving again?" Angela asked as she looked Xander in the face.

"Not a million years," Xander said so resolute he made her smile.

"Don't tell me you're aiming for a threesome now?" she smiled, "cause that will cost you extra."

Xander chuckled and looked over his shoulder towards Buffy.

"Hey, Buff, are you in for a threesome?"

The very ugly words coming back from Buffy soon laid to rest any idea regarding that particular coupling.

"I don't think she wants to share you with me," Angela chuckled mildly.

"She'll come around," Xander grinned confidently, "you'll see."

"Oh," was all Angela said sullenly, "so what now?"

"Well, first we're going back to Doc's place, to check you out," Xander said, "and then you're coming home with us."

Angela looked at Buffy.

"Wouldn't she object? I mean having a girl who… "

Xander's smile evaporated and then he bit his lip.

"Look, Ange, I didn't want to bother you with this at this moment, or get your hopes up. But it didn't quite work out as planned on Tanjecterly. And Buffy here, well, it's not her. This is friend Buffy, not love Buffy."

"You sure have a way with words, Xan," Buffy called back, her Slayer enhanced hearing apparently enabling her to hear his words..

"Then what happened?" Angela asked, "Did something go wrong? Did I….?"

Before Xander could reply Angela fell to her knees again and the chi flames around her flared up again, causing strong winds to blow.

"What's wrong?" Xander asked concerned and Buffy and Shimrod came running also..

"Something's wrong," Angela panted, "I feel…., I….., there's this noise I keep hearing."

"What kind of noise?" Shimrod asked with keen interest.

"A voice," Angela said, "a faint whisper. I've been hearing it ever since I got here but now…."

"Crazy Saiyan," Buffy said as she came by their side, "bitch's coming back."

"We have to get her back to your place, Doc," Xander yelled at Shimrod, "something's wrong!"

"Maybe it is the spell breaking up," Shimrod suggested as he pulled out some artifact of unknown origin to examine Angela, "it shouldn't have any effect though. The spells I wrought were intended to counteract that. She should remain herself even after Ethan's spell is over."

As if to illustrate his point an almost unnoticeable shockwave came from Sunnydale.

"See," the mage said pointing towards the town, "the spell has been broken by the act of Buffy's Watcher breaking the Janus statue. And Angela is still herself, isn't she?"

"I'm not so sure, Shimrod," Angela said shaking her head, "the voice keeps getting louder."

"Crazy Saiyan," Buffy said shaking her head, "it's got to be that bitch."

"Now, let us not jump to conclusions," Shimrod objected and reached inside his coat to pull out a small mirror, through which he looked at Angela. Xander recognized it as the same mirror Shimrod had used to examine him for what he had called Xander's true nature. As soon as Shimrod looked through the small mirror his cautious optimism vanished.

"Oh dear," he said aghast.

x

* * *

x

Under the light of a bright blue alien sun Buffy sat in the back of an old Ford Thunderbird convertible outside Shimrod's place on whatever planet or fun dimension it was built. After they had raced back through one of his portals Gandalf had taken Angela to one of his labs, with Xander in his wake.

Buffy felt she should have been there, at Xander's side. But she wasn't one who did the whole hospital sidekick thing very well. Sitting helpless by the sidelines wasn't her thing. Far better to let the professional handle things while she got out of the way. If they needed her they knew where to find her.

So she sat out here, in the sun. Wishing she had someone or something to pound upon.

To her right the door to Shimrod's mansion opened and the magician came out, looking very tired.

"Everything okay, Shim?" Buffy asked. But she didn't need to ask. The mage's face told the story for him.

"That bad, uh?"

The mage nodded as he sat down on the stairs leading up to his door.

"She has faded away," he sighed, "she has faded away. Despite the best I could do she has still faded away."

Just as soon as he had sat down the magician stood up again.

"I need a drink," Shimrod muttered to himself and went back inside.

Buffy watched him go inside, then she stared ahead blankly for a few moments. So the worst had came to pass. Buffy let out a deep sigh. Then she got up and out of the car.

"Should have gotten Willow along," she said to herself and went inside.

Inside she found herself in Shimrod's endless corridor of a thousand identical doors and halted. Now which door to take? Gandalf seemed to find his way effortlessly through this maze but to Buffy it felt like she had fallen into Alice in Wonderland meets the Wizard of Oz. Normally she'd use her chi sense to find Xander, but in this Wonderland it was hard to sense anything at all. And Shim seemed to have already vanished into whatever door led to his liquor cabinet.

Damn! If only she had brought a scouter along! Too bad she ruined them all using her EMP attack a few months back.

The memories of her EMP attack brought a momentary smile to Buffy's face. Oh, did she ever receive a mouthful for doing that stunt afterwards. As usual Belmo took the fall for that little stunt but the military was furious. They could explain that Sunnydale High had been leveled in some for of explosion, but that every electrical appliance inside the town and beyond had been roasted…. But hey, it got Mullet Joe of her back.

Unfortunately Buffy's EMP attack also blew up every scouter in the greater Sunnydale area, leaving them scouterless for the moment. New ones had been ordered from the good people at Capsule Corp. But it would seem that Bulma was still too pissed off at Belmo for ditching her on some alien world. That, the many notes she had taken from alien tech and being about to give birth at any moment meant that for the moment providing them with new scouters just wasn't high on Bulma's list of things to do. Not that it mattered much right now, it gave them a good opportunity to train their chi sense, but oh boy, Gandalf's funhouse and chi sense just didn't go together well.

Buffy was so lost in her thoughts that she almost missed one of Shim's ethereal creatures passing her in the hallway. She still didn't know what the thin frail creature was, some kind of elf or something. Shim may have explained it to her but he tended to drone on like Giles and when the droning got too long she had a bad habit of zoning out. Which happened a lot when the details were all about the not vital for slaying variety.

"Hey you," Buffy said as she reached out towards the veiled creature, "I'm looking for my friend. Do you know where he is?"

The almost human looking creature stopped and looked at her through its veil like it didn't understood her and Buffy was tempted to yell at it, like adding volume would suddenly make it understand her question. Then it lifted a thin arm towards a door and pointed for a brief moment before moving on.

"Uh, thanks I guess," Buffy said, then she walked towards the door. Hoping it was the correct one, not some door leading into the heart of a fiery star to get rid of unwanted or rude visitors (like her) Buffy stepped inside.

Stepping through Shim's doors was like stepping into different worlds, like being taken to the past, present and future by the ghost of Christmas past, present and future. For a brief moment she felt disorientated, like always. She had asked Xander if he felt the same way but he just looked at her funny. She had wanted to ask Shim but never gotten around to ask Gandalf about why it affected her like that. Maybe it was the Slayer, noticing things that others would not.

Inside the room she saw Angela lying in a bed, staring absentminded towards a wall. It looked like she had the blank thousand mile stare again. Like she had reverted to her coma routine. God, it must be awful for Xander. Poor Xander. Who had put so much hope in this plan, first suggested to him by Oz, to make use of Gandalf's mastery of space and time to go back to that Halloween night and dress her up as herself. To bad it didn't stick.

But where was Xander?

"Hi, Buff," Xander's tired voice said behind her. Okay, question answered, Buffy thought as she turned around and saw Xander sitting on a chair in a corner close to the door.

"Hi Xan," she said as she put on a brave face for her friend. If Shim had looked tired, Xander looked like he had gone ten rounds with the Mayor, in his final form. She knelt in front of him and put her hands on his. He looked… almost un-Xanderlike. Like everything that made him who he was had been taken from him.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I'm so sorry."

Xander looked at her for a moment, then he shrugged and said nothing. Oh, that didn't look right. She'd rather have her friend scream bloody murder, sob like a little girl or trash the place. Anything but this.

"We should have brought Willow along," Buffy said, "And Giles. Don't get me wrong, Shim's good, but Willow's smart, and Giles knows things. Even Belmo could be of some use."

She didn't really mean it, much. She said it more to rouse Xander out if this, this, un-Xanderlike sullenness. And it worked as Xander raised an eyebrow.

"It wouldn't have mattered, Buff," he said flatly, "Shimrod knows what went wrong and Willow couldn't have helped. Giles couldn't have helped. They wouldn't have know what to look for."

"Which is?"

"It's that friggin' ape, Buff," Xander said as he nodded towards Angela, "we thought Ferucca might show up and she did. But we didn't expect that the Ozaru also came along for a ride."

"Your friend is right, Buffy," Shimrod's voice said as he stepped into the room. He was carrying two large cups of wine and gave one to Xander as he took a sip from his own before continuing, "somehow in Tanjecterly Angela's core got linked to the Saiyan untergestalt that is that monstrous ape creature. Xander told me the gestalt I sent into Tanjecterly exhibited changed behavior. When he first met her she was hesitant, more in line with Angela's persona. Then she transformed into an Ozaru and changed. From then on the Ferucca personality was in control and seems to have kept Angela's personality under control. She must have pushed Angela so far down deep that she somehow got pushed into the Saiyan unconsciousness. And that's where the beast dwells. It has to be the source of her Super Saiyan power. She's linked to the beast now. And unfortunately the spells I put in place to trap her essence weren't enough to also trap the beast."

Suddenly the mage threw his cup of wine and threw it across the room.

CLANK!

"Damn!" he yelled angry, "I should have foreseen this! I should have examined first the cause of her Super Saiyan transformation. I…."

Some of the wine had landed on the bed and to Buffy's surprise Angela reacted. She turned her head and looked at the wine stains that had landed on her blanket.

"I am wet," she said in a neutral voice, like it was a mere observation and not a request for a new blanket like a normal person would.

Surprised Buffy looked at Shimrod and then at Xander.

"I… I thought you'd said she was gone?" she said astonished.

"I said she has faded," Shimrod said, "talk to her and you'll know."

Looking one time at the mage Buffy walked over towards Angela. As she did she saw Angela look up towards her.

"Uh, hi…, :" Buffy said not sure what to say, "do you know who I am?"

To her surprise Angela just looked away disinterested.

"I know who you are," she said in a flat disinterested voice, "you're Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A friend of Xander Harris, who traveled to Tanjecterly to find the Axis of Pythia so he could cross over to an alternate universe so he could be with an alternate version of you."

Buffy looked around incredulously at Xander and Shimrod.

"I…, I thought you said…..?" she asked.

"Come," Shimrod said and beckoned Buffy to follow. Taking her by the hand he led her towards the door and opened it. Instead of entering his hallway of a thousand doors they emerged into Shimrod's private study. There on his desk stood a bottle of wine, from which Shimrod poured himself another cup.

"What is wrong here, Shim?" Buffy asked, "what's wrong with her?"

Shimrod drank from the cup before putting it down, then he leaned on his desk and sighed.

"You must understand the depth of her bane," he said with eyes closed, "the magic I wrought to keep her spirit brought back more then just her. The beast, the one that lurks within each Saiyan also came back. That is more then a mere human like her could bear."

"Shim, what are you saying?" Buffy asked with a growing sinking feeling.

"Two minds cannot occupy the same body," Shimrod sighed, "not one so powerful as the Saiyan beast and not one so frail as hers. To put it in simple terms, the ending of the chaos mage's spell caused an overload as it were. She is barely in there, Buffy, but a shadow of a shadow."

"But she talks," Buffy countered, "how can she talk if she….."

"She's not mindless, Buffy," Shimrod said looking up, "she still has Angela's memories. She….., I'm not still not sure. You know those blue carbon copy papers you could stick underneath a piece of paper and make a copy of what you wrote? And…."

The vacant look Buffy returned was enough to tell that his little analogy wasn't hitting home.

"Well, um, …., the point I was trying to make is that while she still has Angela's memories, her essence, maybe even her, um, soul? It has all been seriously, uh, eroded?"

Poor Xander, Buffy thought, he had had his hopes up so highly on this plan, contacting Shim and first proposing his plan, then working out the details with the mage. Only to have it fall apart like this. Of course, it probably sucked even more for the girl . But Buffy never knew her. Aside from helping Xander bringing her drooling body to Sunnydale and help him clear out her apartment in Los Angeles the only real instance she had gotten to know her was when Oz had come up with a DVD detailing her more 'intimate' exploits. Some of things she had seen on it, well, it was true what they said, ignorance truly is bliss.

"Is there nothing you can do?" Buffy asked, "you're like the smartest wizard we know. Surely you can do something."

"I wish I could," Shimrod said as he reached for his bottle for a refill, "and I know of a few dark arts that might help. But…."

The mage downed his glass in one swig..

"But what, Shim?" Buffy asked and the mage looked back at her sternly.

"The beast, Buffy, it's still inside her. They're linked together now. When she's looking like you don't exist, she's not being rude. Or, how should I say this?"

The mage looked aside, like he was thinking of the right words to describe Angela's current situation.

"Absentminded?" Buffy suggested, "Vacant?"

"She hears the beast, Buffy," the mage said, "its constantly with her. She hears it sing."


	4. Chapter Two

**Chapter 2**

' **Like Unto The Gods'**

x

x

 _Madness comes, and madness goes  
An insane place, with insane moves  
Battles without, for battles within  
Where evil lives and evil rules  
Breaking them up, just breaking them in  
Quickest way out, quickest relief wins  
Never disclose, never betray  
Cease to speak or cease to breathe  
And when you kill a man, you're a murderer  
Kill many, and you're a conqueror  
Kill them all ... Ooh ... Oh you're a God!_

Megadeth, Captive Honour

Lyrics and music by: Mustaine, Ellefson, Menza, Friedman

x

x

AN: _By contrast to the torturous labor that was chapter 1, this one wrote itself pretty quickly. If there's anything wrong with the street names that I've used, blame Google Maps, not poor me._

x

x

A-Day minus 312

x

You could say that Quentin Travers was a man on a mission.

Some would say very diplomatically that Travers was a man who would take the Council's business very personal.

Others would say that Travers was an asshole who turned his own business into that of the Council's.

Both sides agreed that whatever his business was, Quentin Travers was a man who would go to any length, make any sacrifice to make it happen. His admirers in the Council admired his will and determination in getting the job done, no matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice. His enemies in the Council loathed how the sacrifices he was willing to make always tended to be amongst their ranks. Both sides tended to agree though that it was the Slayers who bore the brunt of his determination and willingness to make sacrifices.

But that was how it had always been.

Historically Slayers had been both gifted and cursed by their gift of strength and ability. For it meant that no man could truly fight along their side. Which meant Slayers were in the end always alone. And all the Council could do was help them and point them in the right direction, to give their sacrifice meaning.

In a sense it was as hard on the Council as it was on the Slayers. It bore a stark resemblance to a story called Who walks away from Omelas. Omelas was a fictitious city where peace and prosperity were abundant and everybody could have as they desired with no consequences. But the price of that prosperity did not come cheap for it was fueled by dark magic. For in order for Omelas and its citizens to prosper someone had to suffer. And in this case a child.

In Omelas a child would be taken at random at age six and then incarcerated in a small room. He or she would have to live out its life living in its own excrements, with no companionship other then daily mistreatment by its jailors until the day it would die from malnourishment and neglect. Then a new child would be chosen.

The knowledge of this was not kept a secret. All citizens of Omelas knew this. They were shown the child when it was being fed or mistreated. Many would protest upon learning of this practice. But what could they do? Their society prospered and to free the child, which was by then usually beyond help, would mean the end of Omelas. In the end most came to accept this or chose to ignore it. Those that couldn't left the city and walked away. Never to be seen again.

The Council was like this. Sure, the lives of Slayers were short and brutal. And it wasn't fair. But what could they do? The system had worked for Millennia to keep humanity safe. If the price for the millions of lives saved was a small number of girls having to die, then maybe that was a sacrifice worth paying for the greater good. Some in the Council viewed the Slayers as nothing but mere tools. Lose one, another will always come. Others genuinely tried to help the Slayers as best as they could. And some left the Council altogether.

Quentin Travers believed in the Council. He believed in the system of Watchers and Slayers. Yes, it wasn't a fair system. But the world wasn't fair either. And if a vampire put his teeth into your neck you'd better hope that the Universe was fair enough to make sure a Slayer was patrolling nearby, otherwise fair, schmair. Despite its imperfections the system worked as the world was still turning and humanity still the planet's dominant species. And he wasn't going to risk anything endangering the system. Or anyone for that matter.

Which was what brought him here to this present place.

Quentin was sitting in a blinded SUV, one in a series of SUV's that drove across interstate 480, after having picked him up from Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport. Cleveland, with its own Hellmouth had a small Council presence to keep an eye on things. But things had been peaceful as far as Hellmouths go. The local demon population seemed more interested in keeping a low profile and making money then creating havoc. Which meant that as far as the Council was concerned they were more then happy to let sleeping dogs lie.

Which is also why as part of that strategy Quentin Travers had not informed the local Watcher of his visit. In fact few even in the Council knew that Travers was currently as they called it, Stateside. In fact he was even traveling alone without his Council bodyguard. A breach in Council protocol. But a necessary one.

Without anyone to speak too to ease the current monotonous journey Travers entertained himself by looking out of the window. While the fellow road users couldn't see who was inside his blackened SUV Quentin had the luxury of watching them. He had long given up on taking in the sights of a new city. After a while they all seemed the same. But he liked to entertain himself by watching his fellow road users. Imagine if their lives would one day be touched by the supernatural.

It was a childish game, but knowing that that woman driving in her cheap Honda, chattering obliviously on some cell phone, that she could do so because the Council had been on the ball for all those Millennia, that was something that truly inspired him. That that old grandmother holding up other drivers because she was old and cautious could only do so because a certain Slayer in 1975 staved off an apocalypse in the greater Cleveland area at the time.

Some people he could instantly see if they would be vampire bait. Just by looking at them you could see that they would give up the moment death personified knocked on their doors. While others, they looked like they would put up a fight. Vampires could also see that. Most preferred the submissive ones, for it allowed them to feed relatively unnoticed, as the feisty ones put up a struggle. And struggles tended to get noticed more often. Of course there were always a few vampires who preferred their prey to put up a fight. Luckily odds tended to favor the cautious ones as most of the brash ones got thinned out.

In no small thanks to the Slayers. God bless them. It came as a surprise to many considering his distant opinion on Slayers but Travers was one of the few in the Council who could name every Slayer of the last hundred years. They may be tools, but they were valuable tools. And even valuable tools are worthy of some remembrance.

As he entertained himself internally interstate 480 gave way to interstate 77 and the small convoy turned north. The two men up front hadn't said a word, except in their small radios as the other vehicles called in with updates and information. Other then that they completely ignored Quentin in the back. Which was to his liking anyway. After all, he wasn't here to deal with underlings.

Eventually the convoy turned right and drove northeast over interstate to Quentin's surprise the convoy turned west again towards the city center and entered the campus grounds of Cleveland State University. Driving almost the entire length of the campus grounds they entered a small road leading towards the edge of the campus grounds until they reached a small cluster of buildings that according to their signs were part of the University Maintenance department.

As they halted near one of the buildings two men came outside, dressed as maintenance workers. But maintenance workers didn't carry small concealed sub-machine guns. One of the men came towards the vehicle Travers was in and opened the door.

"If you please, sir," he said.

Quentin nodded and stepped out of the car. A chill November wind greeted him, blowing all the way from Canada from across Lake Erie, so he pulled his coat closed. As the man that had opened the car door closed it again the other one pointed towards the building they had come from.

"This way, sir?" the man said and Quentin nodded again. The guard walked beside him while the other one kept a keen eye around him. Behind them the small convoy drove off again the way it had come.

Stepping through the door that one of the guards opened for him Travers entered the building. It seemed like an average maintenance building, full of equipment needed to maintain the university campus grounds. To his left was a small kitchen which seemed to be used by the guards as a restroom. Nothing out of the ordinary. In fact one of the guards that had closed the door behind them even went back inside the kitchen.

"If you would, sir," the leading guard said pointing towards the small kitchen. Shrugging Travers heeded the guard's request and went inside and sat down on a chair by the only table. Meanwhile a radio was playing a popular tune, Quentin was unsure which, he had long given up on following popular music culture. Nor did he care.

"Coffee or tea, sir?" the other guard asked as he stood in front of a small hot drinks vending machine. Quentin was tempted to ask for tea but chose not to.

"Coffee would be okay," he said. The guard nodded and pressed for coffee. There was no way in hell any vending machine would do justice to a proper cup of tea so why even bother. A decision vindicated as soon as the guard put down a plastic cup in front of him. It didn't even do the name coffee justice.

"Here, sir," the guard said.

"Thanks," Quentin replied as he picked up the plastic cup, cautiously sniffed its content, then put it back, "so what now?"

"Now we wait," the other guard said as he put his sub-machine gun on the sink and went to the vending machine to get a hot drink himself, "someone will come for you, sir."

"Okay," Quentin sighed as he resigned himself to the wait. It would seem his new allies were no strangers to the waiting game either. He took a sip from the coffee and nearly pulled a grimace. The coffee tasted as foul as it looked! Not even the lowliest employee at the Council headquarters would have to endure such disgusting coffee back home. In a sense it was ironic since the Americans tended to pride themselves on taking care of their workers.

Once both guards gotten themselves some coffee they sat down on the table. Then one of them reached out towards the radio and changed the channel.

"… and now the true face of these so-called Democrats is revealed," a voice on the radio droned on, "for do these so-called Democrats respect the will of the people? No. They reach for their perennial allies, the fat cat lawyers, and bury the election process in lawsuits. But it doesn't matter, America, for the will of the people will be heard. Including the people of Florida. And…"

"Rush Limbaugh?" guard one said incredulously, "you listen to that fat idiot?"

"Hey, I happen to think he makes a lot of sense," guard two said sipping from his coffee, "I fail to see why Gore has to demand a recount." 

"Oh, please," guard one snorted, "that election down there was clearly rigged. That's what you get if you put Bush's brother in charge of the…"

"Oh common," guard two protested, "that's just loser talk. Do you think high and mighty Al would have protested if Florida had gone his way? Its his own damn fault that he lost the election. Just take West-Virginia. Always staunchly democrat but not this time. If he had paid a little more attention to the small states instead of pouring everything in the big ones he could have easily afforded to lose Florida. He got what's coming to him."

The two guards kept bickering for a while, much to Travers' dismay. Typical lowlife behavior of the Colonies, he thought disapproving. Eventually the two guards were interrupted when somebody else entered the kitchen.

The newcomer was dressed in everyday civilian garb, but everything about him, from his stance to his short cropped hair shouted military.

"Sir Quentin Travers?" the newcomer asked formally. Travers didn't reply, he just rose.

"If you would come this way, sir," the newcomer said and pointed outside of the small kitchen. Travers said nothing to the two guards but instead left the kitchen and followed the newcomer as he walked towards the back of the storage room.

In the back, behind a large snow mobile he touched a part of the wall, after which a large doorway slid open.

"If you would, sir," the man said, gesturing towards the door opening.

Typically American, Travers thought as he stepped through into an elevator. Always resorting to complicated gaudy and flashy solutions straight from bad Hollywood movies. Which wasn't so strange if you considered that few of them read anything even remotely considered literature as a counterweight to all of those bad influences.

The man joined Travers in the elevator and the door closed behind them. The man leaned forward into a small mirror and a glowing green light scanned his face.

"There can be only one," the man said aloud.

"Initiative vocal code match complete," a computer voice said in response, "special agent, Jackson, Thomas. Identity number 64921"

No sooner had the computer voice spoken as the elevator began moving downwards. For quite some time. When it came to a sudden stop the doors went open and a long white corridor became visible. Inside the corridor a soldier in uniform was on guard and stood to attention.

Travers and Jackson left the elevator and passed the soldier, who seemed to be guarding a small guardroom where another soldier sat watching rows upon rows of screens. On one screen Travers could see the two guards from above still in heated argument.

Jackson led Travers through the seemingly endless corridor until they reached the end of it. Then he halted and opened a door for Quentin.

"If you'd please, sir," he said firmly and Travers stepped inside. He entered what seemed like a conference room, with a large u shaped table with built in viewing screens at separate intervals.

"If you would please sit down, sir, somebody will come for you shortly," Jackson said, "can I get you anything, sir? Coffee, tea?"

Remembering the atrocious coffee from upstairs Travers declined.

"No thanks," he said. Jackson nodded, then he closed the door behind him and left. Being intimately familiar with the waiting game Travers then decided to spend the time productively by picking a seat that would give him the most commanding position for the meeting that was about to happen. At least the Americans got this part right as he approvingly noticed that all the chairs at the table were slightly uncomfortable, forcing the seated to sit in an uncomfortable upright position.

So he made himself comfortable in the only comfortable chair that there was, the one at the head of the table. If they wanted to play games with him, well, he wrote the book on them.

x

x

After having made their guest wait for fifteen minutes director Maggie Walsh decided she had made Quentin Travers wait long enough. With Lieutenant Jackson in tow she made her way to the conference room. Only to find their guest sitting comfortably in her own chair.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Travers," she said to her guest who made no signs of getting up from her chair.

"Likewise, Ms. Walsh," Travers replied amiably, "I trust everything is well now?"

"As well as can be expected," she replied back. He wants to be play the diplomat, well so can I, she'd thought. Travers nodded politely in response.

"I am glad to hear it," he said, then he waved around him, "this is quite a setup you have here. It's quite….., dramatic?" 

Dramatic my ass, you pompous British ass!

"The Initiative is housed in a former Cold War installation," Lieutenant Jackson said in a tone of voice like he was playing tour guide, "It was build in the late 1950's by the US government to house in case of a nuclear attack the Eastern Great Lakes recovery administration and the headquarters of 5th Army. The facilities were completed in 1961 and briefly used during the Cuban missile crisis. After that it was deemed that command and control centers in major cities proved too much of a risk in case of all out thermo nuclear war and the facility was abandoned. As of 1964 the facility was turned over to the National Security Council but never used until the NID acquired ownership once we learned it was situated near a Hellmouth."

"Fascinating," Travers said in a tone that suggested anything but that. Again Maggie Walsh cursed that she was forced to work with this cretin. That Senator Kinsey had ordered her to work with this man. She still thought that if given enough time they would succeed.

Unfortunately time was not their friend.

It never was.

"So how was your flight, Mr. Travers," she asked him, "or can I say Quentin?"

" _Sir_ Quentin Travers," the cretin replied smiling a wry smile, "But you may call me Travers. And in answer to your question, yes, I had a good flight."

Asshole!

"Fine, Mr. Travers," she said blandly, "would you like a tour of the facility?"

"I'd like that," the cretin replied. So they left the conferencing room and moved into the Initiative proper.

"The base is divided in two parts," she said as she and Lieutenant Jackson led Travers through the base. The old civilian administration part now houses our logistical and research facilities. Like these."

They entered a large room where several scientists were working behind rows and rows of computers.

"As luck would have it the university uses part of the old communications network to install their own glass fiber network," Walsh continued as she pointed to a computer, "Our engineers were thus able to hook up our network right up to that of the university's. That way our data connections will be masked by that of the university, which as I'm told has a significant file sharing and illegal software community active on its servers."

"Hiding behind the chatter of the university, quite clever," Travers conceded, "But what if one of those internet savvy people tries to hack into your systems?"

Walsh suppressed a snort. Stupid technophobic Council, they probably just used the nearest internet café rather then let this new thing called computers into their sacrosanct and undoubtedly stuffy headquarters.

"In order to hack into our servers they would first still need to know we exist," Walsh said confidently, "trust me, our existence is secure."

"I'm sure they said similar things when the Titanic first sailed," Travers replied, causing Walsh to repress a mighty urge to strangle the bastard.

"We are also well protected by the latest in passive and active firewalls and guardians," she said, which didn't impress sir Cretin much. Probably because he didn't have a clue as to what it meant, the medieval dimwit!

Moving on they passed through the base canteen. Where Travers again made some disparaging remarks. Which were hilarious in hindsight considering the low international reputation of British cuisine. But most likely, nothing but the finest French and Italian cuisine would do for the fine gents of the Council.

Beyond the canteen were the military facilities, where people like Lieutenant Jackson honed their skills. Sir Quentin Travers was mightily surprised to learn that most of his men weren't even based in the base but instead were quartered in the dorms of the university above.

"That makes no sense," Travers remarked, "What could the possible benefits be?"

"We think it does," Maggie Walsh smiled, "not only do we base our men amongst the student population of both universities, I myself teach there daily as a professor at the university."

"Doesn't that increase the risk of possible exposure?" sir cretin asked.

"HST's like to prey upon students in particular," Lieutenant Jackson interjected, "many of them are away from home and feel lost and lonely, making for excellent prey. Also many students tend to drop out during the first year so a missing student tends to go unnoticed for a long while. And some HST's are just drawn to so many young people in the prime of their life. By mingling with the student population and going to their clubs and social activities we were alerted to and managed to bag ourselves quite the number of local HST's."

"In my case I deemed it necessary not to drop out of public life altogether," Walsh said, "as I was quite known in the academic circuit. Teaching in the university allows me to keep up my public cover. Plus it allows me to keep in touch with the men, like Lieutenant Jackson while they are under cover above."

"I see," Sir Cretin said, but from his body language she could see that the very idea abhorred him. Not that surprising though. From what she had been briefed about the Council it preferred to keep a hidden profile above all else.

"There is another benefit to housing most of the staff off base," Walsh continued as they entered another corridor. At the end of which were two soldiers armed with assault machine guns. Walsh pulled out her ID card and put it into a card reader, then she punched in her code. As the doors opened the soldiers kept a weary eye on the entire procedure.

"By housing most staff off base we can utilize more of the base for other purposes," Walsh said as they entered the high security zone. As if in answer a side door opened and two soldiers emerged pulling a trolley along. On the trolley were the remains of a cut open and gutted demon.

Frowning disapproving Travers followed the gurney of death as it passed them.

"I think I just saw breaches of at least half a dozen international agreements," he said disapprovingly.

"Well, the times they are changing," Walsh shrugged casually, "we don't live in the middle ages any more and as far as I know the United States never was a signatory to the Saint-Marc convent, nor the charter of Mieux or the treaties of Constantine."

"Only because it didn't exist in those days," Travers countered, "but the Hague covenant of the Munster peace treaty of 1648 clearly stipulates that any new state shall only receive international recognition unless it agrees to adhere to any past treaties between states and the Watchers Council."

"Whatever," Walsh shrugged, the pompous ass really getting on her nerves by now, "look I'm pretty sure you didn't come here to preach us on breaches of international protocol. You got people for that, we got people for that."

"You're quite right, Ms. Walsh," Sir Cretin replied as they went through another door, "Oh my, that is quite the selection you got here."

He was talking about the large numbers of cages that could be seen in this corridor. Inside each cage a vampire or demon could be seen. Imprisoned behind a massive glass wall. Somewhat nervously Travers reached out towards a cage and almost expected the demon inside to throw himself against the glass. It was what they did in the cages underneath the Watchers Council headquarters. Only here the demon just watched him in complete apathy.

"The glass is a new carbon composite that we are currently marketing," Walsh said proudly, "although the one we use here is more advanced. If a demon or vampire were to touch it for instance they would receive quite a nasty electric shock."

Travers withdrew his hand from the glass like it was infected with the plague.

"Don't worry," Walsh chortled, "only those on the inside will get the nasty shock."

"I see," Travers said somewhat impressed, "I must say the Council might be interested in placing an order for this technology ourselves."

"Good ole fashioned American ingenuity," Walsh grinned. They moved on past cage after cage. Some of the caged demons and vampires still had some spirit left in them and shouted insults as they passed, but most kept quiet.

Next they went to some of the laboratories that were inside the high security area. Where they came upon a team of scientists in surgical clothes that were busy performing an autopsy on a demon. After that they returned to the conference room where Maggie made sure that this time she would be seated at the head of the table.

"This is quit an impressive operation you have here, Ms. Walsh," Travers said as he seated himself as far away as was possible from the Initiative leader, "I'm not quite sure what you need our expertise for."

Walsh pulled out a file map and slid it across the table. The map contained a series of files all marked top secret. He had to reach out for the file but Travers pulled it towards him, then he opened it and read its content.

"I am not familiar with this prophecy," he said after having read the file, "in fact none of our prophecies ever mention something about an apocalypse caused by a pair of robots."

"Well, I think they had other things on their mind in the dark ages," Walsh said derisively, "Although I hear there's a Japanese prophecy that mentions something called Jinzouningen, or artificial people."

"Our prophecies do tend to be quite thorough though," Travers countered, "do not underestimate the powers of the ancient visionaries to foretell the future. You would be interested to learn what modern advances they did foretell. For instance the rise of the internet was foretold already by an ancient Sumerian oracle living in the third millennium BC."

"Prophecies can be twisted to explain whatever you want to them to," Walsh said unimpressed, "Especially after the fact. We on the other hand have supporting evidence regarding the coming of these androids."

She activated her screen and that in front of Travers. On it the body could be seen of a small man of black origin.

"About a year ago three androids appeared looking for information. This one was captured in Sunnydale California. He was damaged beyond repair but once you stripped away the outer layer of flesh he there was a lot of robot inside."

Travers looked up from the screen and looked at Walsh.

"Did you just say Sunnydale California?" he asked, his arrogance gone like he had just seen a ghost.

"I did," Walsh said, then she grinned, "In fact, records have it that you were in that same town not that long before. Coincidence?"

Whatever seemed to have shaken Sir Cretin shook him no more as he quickly composed himself.

"A mere unfortunate set of coincidences," he said, "after all, as you probably know, the town has been build upon an Hellmouth."

"Oh, I know," Walsh echoed, then she touched her screen again and another body became visible. This time that of a large brutish body builder.

"This android was recovered in San Francisco. Silicone Valley to be precise. Capsule Corp. corporation to be even more precise. Where it tried to attack the daughter of the owner of said company. This happened early this year. Despite a massive search by both the FBI and the US armed forces for this android."

Then the picture changed to that of a severely mauled human body, barely recognizable. The body lay on a surgical table similar to the ones in the Initiative.

"This one was recovered about half a year ago. Again in Sunnydale California. Around the time of the chemical explosion that leveled the town's high school and surrounding area. Like the other two androids this one was human with extensive robotic implants underneath."

"I see," Travers nodded, "that does point to some credence to this prophecy of impending doom by robotic hands. Although to be technical the evidence seems to point more to cyborgs then robots. It still doesn't explain why none of our prophecies make any mention of it."

"Blind chance?" Walsh shrugged, "Wasn't US history irrevocably changed when one man fired three bullets at a moving car in Dallas in 1964?"

"Our prophecies foretold even of that event," Travers said, causing Walsh to snort.

"Oh, really? It never occurred you guys to give us a heads up? Or was it just something you guys 'learned' after the fact?"

Travers didn't respond.

Maggie Walsh sat up straight in her chair and put her hands together in front of her.

"From what I can gather your organization is engaged in a cosmic struggle between good and evil. A delicate balance that has to be maintained for order to exist. Sometimes the good guys win, sometimes the bad guys. The end result is always the same. So you get your prophecies from the good guys. Or at least I hope they are the good guys. I take some of the bad guys get their own clues. But even in the best of all regulated systems there is still a measure of chaos. Something that is not planned, something that could go wrong that suddenly does go wrong."

"We think that this professor Gero is that chaotic element. Did you know I met him once when I was a freshman student? He gave a guest lecture back then and I think most of what he was saying about robotics was so advanced I forgot most of it. I'm pretty sure that if it had been taped back then it would still be cutting edge today. Based upon the androids we so far encountered I totally believe that in less then a year we will be royally screwed. And if none of the your precious assorted ravings of madmen and lunatics mention Gero it's because he is that random chaotic element that crops up from time to time."

"So what do you want from us?" Travers asked. In response Walsh brought up schematics. Schematics that had Travers gasp for air.

"You must be joking," he said aghast.

"Do I look like a joker?" she said dead serious, "The Initiative was founded to come up with ways to enhance our soldiers in a galactic war that is even now being waged. I'm sure even the mighty Watchers Council has learned of the existence of the SGC and the Goa'uld. We are fighting as much a battle to stave of annihilation of mankind as the Council is. Only our adversaries use cutting edge technology instead of magic."

"We tried coming with cybernetic implants to enhance our soldiers. And some of them work. Lieutenant Jackson is a prime example of that work."

"But we need more to stop the Goa'uld. And we need even more to stop these androids. We tried installing better, stronger implants. Unfortunately after a certain level they kept on killing our volunteers. Then we hit upon the idea of using demons. Demons are stronger, they can take on the more powerful implants humans can't. We want to build an army of enhanced demons so we can not only take the fight to the Goa'uld and win, but also defeat those androids."

"But for that we need the Council's aid. We need time to study demons. Better understand their physiology. In a perfect world there would be plenty of time. Unfortunately we don't have that time. And that is where the Council comes in. We don't have the time to study demons. But you have the information we need already. If you could release that information to us it would allow us to field that demon army in less then a year, instead of years."

Quentin Travers had been listening to the woman's lecture. He knew she disliked him. That was okay. Plenty of people disliked him. In fact it was part of his outward persona that he carefully cultivated. It put people on the wrong foot and he found that it made people constantly underestimate him.

Even now he could see in the good professor's eyes that she feared that he might block the transfer of knowledge based on some old Council distrust of governments and their experiments on demons. Truth be told he couldn't care less. Governments had been caught dabbling in demon hunting since the rise of the first states in places like Egypt, Sumeria and the Indus valley. Hell, more often then not they had even been caught dabbling in the black arts or employment of demons.

While official Council policy was to forbid government interference in the supernatural, this had not always been the case. Sometimes governments and the Watcher's Council had worked together closely. In medieval times many a Watcher occupied important government positions that would allow them to deal with the supernatural. Of course in medieval times governments had been relatively weak and very much dependent on the few people that were literate in a time when most people couldn't read. So the arrangement was to everyone's satisfaction.

That had changed with the Renaissance and the rise of Reason. As more people abandoned blind faith and superstition, governments seemed less inclined to be associated with the Council. And as governments grew ever more powerful the Council thought it more and more prudent to make sure that the less they were involved with the supernatural, the better. Up to the point that there had been some in the Council in the 1930's who encouraged a certain Adolf Hitler to act against the Soviet-Union, as they feared Stalin's grasp on all things supernatural inside the Soviet-Union as a terrible danger in itself.

Of course Stalin found out. He always did. As a result of that the Council found it extremely hard to operate at all in the Eastern Block until the fall of Communism. And even that was only possible by giving Stalin the heads of those who had encouraged Hitler on a silver platter.

Literally!

As a result the Council nowadays was extremely skittish regarding any government involvement in anything supernatural and guarded its prerogative with extreme prejudice.

But Quentin Travers had other priorities in mind. Gradually, over time, he had come to learn certain truths. Truths that had shocked him to such a degree that when US Senator Kinsey had approached him on a matter of common interest in certain areas, instead of treating the message like the proverbial plague he saw an opportunity. And now that he had seen firsthand to what a degree Kinsey's Initiative was willing to do he saw even greater opportunity.

Yes. He would have to thread carefully. If his enemies in the Council were to learn of this it would be his downfall. His death even. But the gains…. And in the end things could be in the Council's favor even in the long term. The Council had learned of the US governments war with the Goa'uld and the chance of impending planetary destruction. If by agreement these cyborg demons would only be used off planet it would mean harnessing mankind's eternal enemy against its newest enemy. Whilst restoring also that which should be rightfully the Council's. But he had to thread carefully. So careful.

"I have to say I am very much displeased," Travers said with mock indignation, "Not since the days of the Roman XXXIII legion, the black legion, have I seen so much blatant government meddling in affairs that do not concern it. If other nations were to learn of this the implications could be most dire."

It wasn't a complete lie. If other countries were to learn of these experiments there would be repercussions. But at the same time Travers was realist enough to know that the United States was the world's sole superpower and too many other countries were dependent on it for them to act against it. In that sense the Council thought it prudent to remind countries that it had power of its own, but never give them cause to actually be forced to use it.

So he put up a struggle. Let her talk some more to convince them, play hard to get.

Only she didn't play that game.

Walsh stood up and leaned on the table.

"Let's cut the bullshit," she said coldly, "Let's not pretend that you're going to play hard to get, and I'm not going to pretend that there is imminent danger. Truth be told, I'm not sure Gero is crazy enough to destroy the world to get revenge. Crazed scientist trying to destroy the world is after all such a cliché and the guy seemed pretty sane when I met him."

"But you and I know perfectly well that there is something wrong with that place in California. I saw you stiffen up when I mentioned the place. It's no accident that two of those three androids were destroyed there. There is an alien presence there. You know it, I know it. Senator Kinsey knows it. In fact he knows even more then me. Whatever it is, it's interfering with your Council business and the Initiative was founded to help fight alien dangers."

"So let's not beat around here, shall we? What does it take? What is your price?"

x

x

"He wants us to do what?"

Senator Kinsey looked incredulously at the small hologram of Initiative Commander Walsh.

"He wants us to either assassinate or use the new demon warriors to kill three people," holographic Walsh said without blinking an eye. Of course she had been privy to that information a little earlier.

"Then why doesn't he do so himself?" Senator Kinsey said into the small holographic projector on top of his desk in his office, "He's the head of the friggin' Watcher's Council. He could order the assassination of the new president elect if he wanted to and get away with it."

"Oh, has it been settled then?" Walsh replied offhand. The woman had a very annoying quirky side, Kinsey thought.

"I wish," Kinsey snorted derisively, "Al Gore is as stubborn as he's mind numbingly dull. Back to the point. Who does he want to get killed?"

Walsh let out a chortle.

"You'll get a real kick out of this one," she said, "apparently he wants us to kill two girls and one guy in Sunnydale."

Kinsey's face turned slightly pale.

"Not HIM?" he said aghast.

"Told you you'd get a real kick out of it," Holo-Walsh smirked. Kinsey leaned back in his seat for a moment and mulled things over.

"I can see why he wants HIM dead," he finally said, "he's on our list as well. But we are not yet ready to move on him. What about the girls?"

In response Kinsey's personal fax machine, the one only few people had the number to, came to life. Kinsey reached for the fax print outs and read them.

"She's his daughter?" he said surprised, "I thought he had only two infants."

"Step-daughter," Holo-Walsh corrected him, "To be. From what Jackson could gather he's engaged to his mother."

"There's little to no information about the other one," Kinsey said as he flicked through the papers, "just some juvenile records from Boston and…, Sunnydale again?"

"Nothing recent though" Holo-Walsh shrugged, "Jackson tried all that he could but he couldn't find anything recent. It's like she disappeared off the face of the Earth."

"I see," Kinsey said as he put the papers down, "You know, Director Walsh, these are some pretty stiff demands. Try as we might we aren't ready yet to move against HIM."

"I think Sir Cretin knows this," Holo-Walsh said, "he's not expecting payment up front. He expects payment on delivery. Once we get what we want he gets what he wants. And as it so happens at least one of his targets happens to be ours. Does it not, senator?"

"We should never have made a deal with this 'alien'," Kinsey said as he felt his anger rise again, putting extra vitriol on the word alien, "It's bad enough that we have Hammond's bunch kowtowing to various alien governments, now he made a Faustian deal with this 'alien' as well. We will not stand for this, I tell you."

Holo-Walsh said nothing ,just giving Kinsey an amiable smile as he finished his rant.

"Does this mean I should tell Sir Cretin he has a deal?" she said.

"He has a deal alright," Kinsey snorted, "if he gives us what we need to achieve Project 314 we will take care of his little problem."

"I'm sure he will be pleased to hear so," Holo-Walsh said. Then she cut off the connection and the hologram disappeared, leaving Senator Kinsey to contemplate the deal he just gave his okay to. Then he picked up the fax print of HIM and looked at the picture.

"We're going to kill you and your kind, mister," he said coldly, "and you know what, this time Jack's not even going to stop me. He'll be cheering me on."

x

x

As Walsh re-entered the conference room she found Travers once again sitting in her chair, like he owned the place. Sir Cretin was now really beginning to piss her off. If only they weren't so strapped for time….

"So what did our mutual associate have to say," Travers smiled amiably at her, "I take it he wasn't averse to our terms?"

Oh how she wanted to order Jackson to beat that smirk of his face.

Instead she put on her business face.

"Kinsey agreed to your terms," she said and walked up to Sir Cretin, "He can understand why you want to take him out, but like me he expresses puzzlement as to why you want the two girls to die. And FYI, that is _my_ chair."

"Force of habit," Travers smiled condescendingly as he stood up, "as for the girls, you do not need to concern yourself as to the why. All you need to know is that it is the will of the Council. The how is all you need to worry about."

"You do realize that if it were known that we were to conspire with a foreign agency to kill American citizens there would be a public outcry?" Walsh scoffed as Travers passed her.

"Think of it like this," Travers replied, "there would be a public outcry regardless if it were known that the US government experimented on people. At least this way public anger will be directed at the both of us. Now we both have an incentive to succeed lest we both hang."

"Somehow I don't feel much reassured," Walsh snorted as she looked at Lieutenant Jackson, who just stood there implacably at attention, like the whole proceeding was the most common thing in the world. Or like he just had his hearing switched off.

"The world is as it is," Travers shrugged, "Now, before I go I would like to see your current project." 

"What do you mean?" Walsh asked innocuously.

"Come on," Travers said like he had caught a small child in the act, "You tell me you're experimenting on people and demons and all I get to see are corpses? Where's the big project? The current demon you're working on? I can't help you people if you don't show how far you are."

Giving one more look at the implacable Lieutenant Jackson Walsh sighed.

"Come," she said and led Travers back into the maze that was the Initiative, with the lieutenant in their wake of course. Into the secure zone all the way towards the back, where another pair of soldiers armed with assault machine guns stood guard.

"We used this specimen for various reasons," she said as she punched in her code to open the door, "but most of all because he showed exceptional promise and aptitude for what was required."

The doors swung open and another laboratory was revealed.

"It took four full teams to capture this HST," she continued, "a record that stands unrivaled until today. Four men were killed trying to capture him and even more were wounded. And even although we probably reached the end as far we could take with his designs, they are the furthest we've gotten so far."

As Travers followed Walsh he saw that while at the right end of the laboratory Initiative scientists were working on their workstations, the left side was used exclusively for a large test bed.

"Good God!" Travers exclaimed as he recognized who was on that test bed.

It was the vampire Spike.

x

x

A-Day minus 346

x

The brute was strong.

He had to give him that.

Strong enough to give him a strong licking.

They must have dug deep to find this demon. Deep in some faraway shithole Crappistan or hell dimension to come up with this particular beast that proved itself strong enough to stand up to him.

He had to bring out all the stops except for the energy attacks to keep this demon from trouncing all over him. And Spike was loving it!

When he had fled from that accursed town in California he swore never to return to that place. At first he had gone South to see Drusilla again. But halfway down Mexico it occurred to him that there was no point to going back to Dru like some lovesick puppy. So he had shaken his funk off of him. Big deal. It still didn't mean Dru would take him back. Besides, if he went back to her that would give her the advantage. Better that she'd come to him. Let her come to her senses and stop screwing every disgusting demon she came across to punish him once she learned he no longer cared. Then she'd return to him.

Meanwhile he would be best served if he became his own man again. So he went to Mexico City in search for a place to rule.

Mexico City was unruly, ungodly, the deathrate was insane with human life meaning nothing there. And that was almost all the work of humans themselves.

Even when he was still Angelus that tosser Angel already had his bouts of the broody. It was in one of his broody moments that Angelus had said that the biggest demon preying upon humanity was humanity itself and that by comparison he was just an amateur. In Mexico City Spike again learned how right brood boy had been. He killed five people on arriving that night and within a week had created his own private band of followers again. And nobody seemed to take notice, just some more statistics.

But even in Mexico City vampires and demons didn't own the night. By the next week his private band had been all but destroyed by what he would later learn was a private army of demon hunters, armed and trained by the Mexican Catholic Church called La Inquisition. Apparently it was alright for drug lords and corrupt politicians to kill people by the dozens, but an honest master vampire, no he'd get the cross and holy water treatment in no time.

Such was the way of the world though and complaining got you nowhere. He was about to leave Mexico City again when Spike learned of the Circuit.

The Circuit was a network of underground no rules to the death fighting. Mostly between demons, but sometimes between demons and humans. And best of all, what happened in the ring, stayed in the ring.

Not long after he had been turned Angelus once mentioned that there were demons and vampires who made a living in underground fights. It piqued the brawler interest inside Spike, but Angelus had made it damn certain that such thing were beneath them. After that Spike had found other diversions, but now that he learned of the Circuit his interest was again piqued.

He attended a match as a visitor and found this was where he belonged. There were no complications, there was no ideology, just an honest to God fight. It may be beneath that Nancy Boy Angel, but it was at the right gutter level as far as Spike was concerned. No sooner had he witnessed the fight as he challenged the winner to a duel.

At first he noticed that vampires were frowned upon. Maybe it was for certain racist reasons because of their human origins. Or because as he later learned that some vampires had tried to masquerade themselves as human fighters. In the end it didn't matter. As long as he provided a good honest entertaining fight he found that people began to cheer for him.

And he did try to give them a good honest entertaining fight. Thanks to Sunnydale he was at least ten times stronger as any other vampire and stronger then most demons. This meant that he could finish off almost any opponent before he even had to break a sweat. But what would be the point in that? Or the fun both for himself and the audience? So Spike made it almost a point of religion to lower himself to the point of his adversary and defeat him purely on skill and determination alone if possible. And as he progressed he also became very adapt at playing the crowds, which meant he also became a crowd favorite.

El Gringo Blanqueada

As the Circuit and La Inquisition had an agreement with each other that whatever happened in the ring, stayed in the ring, Spike finally had what he wanted. He was his own man again. He got to fight to his hearts desire and got paid handsomely for it. The only downside was that the Circuit frowned on its fighters being 'active' outside of the ring or the gym.

Still, he had all the blood he could ever wanted donated by loving fans. Mexicans were a strange lot in that respect as the only thing they loved more then a real game of football was to see a good fight. It was almost like he was living the life of a rock star. And he loved it.

Eventually though the life in Mexico grew repetitive and stale. While Spike had always loved to overindulge himself from time to time, constant open debauchery grew boring even for him, so Spike decided that maybe the time had come to become a real professional and travel the Circuit worldwide. The Circuit in Western-Europe was only a short tour as West Europeans weren't so much into blood sports as they used to be. Eastern-Europe however, and Russia in particular, proved more fertile. But before he knew it he fell back into the same pattern as in Mexico.

So he moved to New York instead. Just the right kind of money and interest to make it worthwhile but nothing like the abject hero worship that grew boring after a while.

It was in New York that he awaited the World's best to come to him. And for Dru to make his way back to him. It was in New York that he awaited the arrival of a mysterious young man who was beginning to make a name for himself and who had even defeated the famed demon/fighter Drum from Cleveland. But he never came.

Nature abhorred a vacuum in the illegal underground demon fight circuit as much as it did elsewhere though, so a next hottest fighter always took the place of the last promise. A fine specimen that Spike was even now fighting. A young demon of an unpronounceable species, champion to a demon clan with an even more unpronounceable name.

From what his manager had told him the clan had fallen on hard times and was now desperate for money, putting up their best and finest for the Circuit. He (at least he looked like a he) had cut a sway through various fights in the Far East before coming to the US via Los Angeles, making his way towards New York. Apparently his clan now believed he was ready to take on El Gringo Blanqueada

And truth be told the kid was magnificent. If he hadn't received Angelus chi training Spike was certain that the brute would have finished him off long ago. Combining above vampire levels of strength with superb oriental martial arts. It almost made Spike wish Angelus had received the full Saiyan curriculum from the Big Scary. All the flashy moves instead of just the basics.

But Spike also had the heart of a street brawler and he knew that most fights weren't decided by flashy finishing moves. 95% of all fights were decided by simple basic moves. Simple punches, kicks and blocks served you well until your opponent finally made a mistake. And while the kid was good and strong, probably even had some training in less advanced martial arts involving chi, he still liked to flaunt his strength by making flashy moves. And there were probably at least half a dozen moments when Spike could have finished the fight with a simple basic attack.

That off course would be depriving the audience of a great fight. And Spike had seen enough martial arts movies to know that any good fight involved letting yourself get beaten up for a while before turning the tide. Audiences love a come back from behind. The key was in making sure you made no mistakes while getting beaten up. It was different from the go straight to the jugular tactics that he had used in the past, but then again, back then he wasn't into providing entertainment either.

So now the question became, how to take him down without becoming accused of toying with the brute? The sudden just increase your strength and knock him down approach would probably cause some heads being turned. It had to look both pretty and believable.

In the end the answer was as simple as it was a classic. Basic attrition.

While the kid was well trained, any fighter still suffered fatigue as a fight dragged on. And the fight had been dragging on for quite some while now. The kid had been keeping up a steady attack since the beginning. Occasionally Spike had taken the initiative himself, after all, he had to show he wasn't the champion for no reason.

Eventually though his challenger showed more and more signs of wearing out more then Spike was. Maybe it was because the kid had fought too many battles in too short a time. Maybe it was because Spike had been living a way healthier lifestyle then he used too (living off the finest human blood from blood banks, regular exercise). Or maybe because if he really wanted to he could still draw on infinitely larger reserves.

Probably it was the latter. As there was not enough money in the world that could persuade Spike to give up smoking. Or the occasional greasy fried up foods.

Sensing that his opponent was wearing out Spike began to take the initiative and upped up his attacks, causing even more wear and tear on his opponent. The crowds roared as they sensed that the tide of battle had changed. Those with money running on Spike roared their approval, those who had betted on the newcomer didn't. Shouting ever more desperate encouragements to the new kid instead.

It wasn't lost on the demon either. He looked like he was starting to realize that he might actually lose the fight. He tried to compensate, throw in his last reserves. At Spike's current level it should be enough to sway the tide against him again. But the vampire had enough of this fight and raised his power to compensate accordingly. Concern on the demon's face now gave way to fear as he realized that there was no more way for him to win, other then maybe a mistake by Spike.

But Spike wasn't going to give him a mistake. Sticking to purely basic attacks he hammered the demon.

"Who's your daddy now, huh?" he yelled as he rained down blow upon blow on the luckless demon. The demon didn't reply. Instead he resorted to every trick in his extensive arsenal to keep the vampire at bay. Which was what Spike had been after all along. For desperation plus too much techniques plus exhaustion equaled a recipe for disaster.

Which ultimately came to fruition as a defensive move meant to ward off an attack backfired and created an opening that Spike immediately exploited with a massive blow to the head. The impact of which sent the demon to the floor. He wasn't out yet, but Spike ruthlessly exploited that his opponent had lost his mobility lying on the floor with a series of vicious kicks and blows to finish him off for good

The crowds now really sensing that blood and death were imminent howled for the slaughter to commence. After he pummeled the luckless demon for two minutes straight a bloodied Spike, glistening in sweat turned his back to the demon for the first time in the match and looked towards the crowd.

"SPIKE! SPIKE!" the chanting went and Spike raised his arms in the air to acknowledge their bloodlust.

"Is this what you want?" he yelled. The crowd roared in response.

"IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT?" he yelled again as he kicked the demon's head without looking for good measure. Again the crowds roared.

"FINISH HIM, SPIKE!"

"RIP HIS HEAD OFF!"

Grinning wickedly Spike turned towards the demon.

"As you wish," he grinned as he knelt beside the demon and took its head in a choke hold. Then he vamped out and sank his teeth into its throat.

"SPIKE! SPIKE!" the crowds roared as he ripped the demon's throat out. He even drank from its blood. Normally demon blood was a poor substitute for human blood. But drinking his enemy's blood had also become sort of his finishing trade mark move. He also greatly enjoyed the massive amounts of adrenalin that had been pumping inside his victims blood. Now adrenalin wasn't something rare in a vampire's victim's blood. The body seemed to be making a lot of when under attack. But it released massive amounts of it in a fighter's blood.

"Yeah!" some of the people yelled approvingly as he drank deeply. While normally a demon's blood taste ranged from atrocious to bearable, this one had a surprising sweet aftertaste. And while adrenalin served to make it even more sweet this demon had to be pretty drinkable to begin with. Causing Spike to drink much longer then he normally did.

Eventually though he let go of the now limp body and stood up, hands in the air.

"Who's still the man now, you prancing fairy?" he yelled as an official from the Circuit came by and knelt beside the demon's body, checking to see if Spike's opponent was really dead. After checking he looked aside and shook his head, all while Spike was making his victory lap around the underground arena, high fiving some of the front row spectators. .

"Who's the fuckin' man," Spike yelled, "certainly not _that_ tosser."

As Spike made his victory round a man in a tuxedo joined the Circuit official with a microphone.

"And the winner, through certain death, is still New York's reigning champion, SPIKE!" the newcomer said.

"SPIKE! SPIKE! SPIKE! SPIKE!"

It was good to be alive!

In a sort of way.

What exactly happened next went in a sort of daze for Spike, with the post-battle rush still high on his brain. Circuit officials guided him towards what passed for a dressing room. He plopped onto a chair next to a table. On the table stood a large glass with a warm pint of blood. Human blood. He never asked where it came from. Probably from a human blood bank, although you never really knew with these guys. It was always at body temperature even though there wasn't a microwave in sight.

Drinking deeply from the blood Spike ignored the Circuit official who congratulated him on yet another victory. The money, like always was on the table in an attaché briefcase. After he had finished drinking the blood he put the glass down and reached for his leather overcoat, taking from a pocket a packet of cigarettes. Pulling out a cigarette he put in his mouth, then lit it.

It tasted glorious.

After the Circuit official had left two girls entered the dressing room. They were the epitome of sluts in their skimpy outfits and high heels. And they just wanted to please him. Vampire groupies. Just two. After all, any more would be decadence.

And to think that wanker of an Angelus had actually wanted to end this glorious world.

x

x

Spike's limousine drove over the streets of Brooklyn. The limo and driver were courtesy of the Circuit, for their star performer. The two girls giving him a sponge bath with their tongues, well, you could say the Circuit was partly responsible. God bless the groupies! And their tongues of course.

Okay, it might be a little self-indulgent. It still was peanuts compared to Mexico. Mexicans were crazy as fuck.

Besides the driver and the girls there was also a minder sitting up front. The minder's job was not so much to look after Spike but to keep an eye on him. The girls came from a Circuit venue and if he killed them that would look unfavorably on the organization. Not that he was necessary though, for the girls knew tricks with their tongues that made them far more worthwhile to Spike alive then dead. Talent should never be punished.

"Yeah, baby, that's the stuff," Spike moaned as he threw his head backwards in the comfortable chair. Life was good!

He was about to enjoy it even more when the limo came to an abrupt and full stop. It was fortunate indeed that the girls were orally gifted otherwise he could have been really hurt. After all, no man wants to get an accidental 'Bobbitization' because some girl's jaw snapped shut. Now all he did was spill lager all over the car.

"Aw, come on, you wanker," Spike called out in annoyance to the driver, "can't you drive a li…."

Kretsch.

Kretsch.

Both the driver and the minder spasmed momentarily before slumping in their seats as two holes appeared in the front window.

"Aw bugger," Spike muttered as moving flashlights began to surround his car. As the two girls began to panic Spike reached for his trousers and zipped himself up.

"Spike, what's going on?" one of the girls asked scared.

"Change of plans, love," Spike said deadpan, "and don't worry your pretty heads, it's most definitely all because of me."

Spike coiled his leg muscles and then jumped right through the roof window, 40 feet into the air. No sooner had he done so as dozens of bullets riddled the limousine turning it into Swiss cheese.

"What a waste," Spike sighed briefly for the girls as he looked downwards. At least a dozen men dressed in black had surrounded the car and emptied their guns into the vehicle he had jumped from. Two black SUV's had sandwiched the limo, explaining why it had come to its untimely halt.

Coming down in a power pose Spike landed 20 feet from one of the black SUV's.

"He's getting away," one of the blackened commando's called. Instead of running Spike straightened his leather overcoat and took stock of the situation.

"What, you and your little pea shooters?" he snorted derisively. Guns had long ceased being a threat to him. They could still hurt though, or cause damage that would slow him down. Not any more since Angelus taught them the Big Scary's tricks. Now bullets would just bounce off him like he was superman.

To his surprise instead of riddling him with bullets the black commandos shouldered their machineguns and pulled forth something different. Next thing he knew Spike was dodging lightning bolts.

"Bugger this, I'm outta here," Spike muttered as he deflected yet another lightning bolt. If he wanted to deflect energy beams he could have stayed in Sunnydale. It would seem that New York had now outlasted its welcome as well.

As he ran as fast as he could (which was quite considerable) the black dressed commandos made for their SUV's and began to give chase. It wasn't long before they were chasing him through New York's night lit streets.

Soon a third car, of the same black SUV variety, almost struck him as it came racing out of a side street, with Spike only narrowly avoiding it by jumping over it. Racing into a side street of his own a lightning bolt struck a little to close to home for comfort.

Running through the alley, with three black unmarked SUV's in hot pursuit it dawned on Spike that now might be a good time to change tactics. After all, as a vampire he had done the chase game long enough to know that as long as you danced to somebody's else's tune you weren't going to come out on top.

It was time to stop dancing to their tune. If he had been fully rested he might have been able to outrun three SUV's. For a while. But he wasn't rested. He had gone through a grueling fight and the post match cigarettes didn't help either. What he still did have was greater strength and a few tricks up his sleeve.

While running Spike held his two arms apart and concentrated to form two globes of yellow energy in them. Which wasn't as easy as he'd thought as he stopped using energy attacks after leaving Sunnydale. And then there was the whole being chased by crazy blackened commandos in unmarked SUV's bit. But as soon as he felt he had amassed enough power he jumped into the air and fired off his chi.

But not to hit the three cars. The chi hit the ground right where he had been and created a large explosion. The three cars in hot pursuit hit the brakes almost immediately, but not soon enough. The second car was barely able to evade the blast by hitting a parked car, the third one came to a stop just in time. But the first car drove right into the heart of the blast.

Spike used the momentum of his blast to fly upwards, then used one hand to blast him sideways until he landed on top of one of the buildings.

"How do you like that, you bastards," he yelled defiantly downwards.

The reply came in half a dozen of lightning bolts vaporizing chunks of concrete around him.

To his horror he saw that some of the commandos used their comrades covering fire to climb up the walls towards . Faster then was humanly possible.

Were these commandos demons? Or vampires?

It was probably best not to find out. Anyone going to all of this length to get to him probably had done more then just their homework. They might actually have a plan.

So Spike braved the lightning bolts and shot two attacks down below that destroyed the two remaining cars. Then he ran away and jumped to the roof of another building.

"So long, suckers!" he said defiantly as the first commando reached the rooftop he just vacated.

While not going as fast as on the streets Spike was at least confident that without a car they wouldn't keep up with him. Glancing over his shoulder he saw that a few of the commandos were giving chase to him. And making decent time as well as they also were able to jump over streets from rooftop to rooftop.

This wasn't going so well as he had hoped. Because if they could more or less keep up with him on these rooftops, their friends down below could do so even more on the streets.

He needed to get rid of his pursuers.

Spike halted for a moment behind a large air-conditioning unit. Then he pulled himself on top of it and leaped right back towards the nearest commando.

He landed right in front of the surprised bugger before he had time to react and punched him with so much force in the chest his fist disappeared right into the ribcage, crushing the commando's heart.

"Human, huh?" Spike remarked as the commando spasmed around his fist. Then he pulled his fist out and before the commando could fall to the rooftop's floor he made a leap towards another one.

This one had seen what had befallen his comrade and tried to bring up his ray gun. But Spike chopped it right clean in two with one stroke. To his credit the commando resorted to hand to hand combat without blinking an eye. And put up quite a struggle to boot, forcing Spike to dig deep.

But his reserves were deep, deep enough to overcome the commando. He swatted away the commando's defenses and took him in a sleeper hold, followed by the snap of a broken neck.

Dropping the commando he wanted to jump towards the next one but instead was hit by a lightning bolt, causing excruciating pain to coarse through his body.

Fuck!

He staggered back from the impact, then got hit by another bolt, causing more pain.

Maybe it was not such a good idea after all to come back and try taking out these guys.

More bolts hit him now, as he spotted at least five more of them coming towards him, all firing their ray guns.

"NO! Not like this!" Spike exclaimed as he erected a bubble of chi to protect himself. A shimmering wall of energy surrounded him and deflected the lightning bolts. But the cost was enormous. Having never had more then the basics of Saiyan chi techniques his shield was crude and inefficient, causing him to hemorrhage energy at an enormous rate. Plus he was unable to do anything else but just stand there and maintain the shield.

Meanwhile the commandos closed in and continued to barrage him with lightning bolts.

Then something else happened. A series of concentric rings appeared out of nowhere and three more commandos appeared inside them, then the rings vanished leaving just the three commandos. They were carrying what appeared to be a large rocket launcher.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Spike exclaimed as the newcomers aimed their rocket launcher towards him, then fired it off. Like it almost went in slow motion Spike could see the projectile coming towards him, then it hit his shields causing a large explosion and tremor throughout his shield.

But as it exploded with a combined force of chemical explosion and kinetic impact the projectile weakened the shield just enough for a second projectile to pass through the shield. The smaller projectile seemed like it was guided or something for it came straight towards Spike and hit him in the neck.

"Bollocks to this!" Spike said as he reached for the dart like projectile and pulled it from his neck.

And that's when everything turned to black.

x

x

A-Day minus 312

x

"You have got to be kidding me," Travers exclaimed as he kept his distance from the unconscious vampire, "This is Spike!"

"Actually his designation is Hostile 17," Lieutenant Jackson interjected calmly.

"That is Spike," Travers said again pointing to the vampire, "William the Bloody. The only vampire in recent history to have bested two Slayers. Two Slayers!"

He kept looking at the lieutenant and Walsh like it actually meant anything to them.

"He tortured people with bloody railroad spikes for God sakes!" Travers said.

"He won't be torturing anybody," the lieutenant said calmly and held up a small electronics component, "We install these in all our test subjects." 

"It's a neural inhibition chip," Walsh explained, "it prevents any HST from attacking a human by causing a sensory overload in their pain receptors. If he ever tries to attack a human being he will feel so much pain it will cause him to pass out." 

"And that works?" Travers said incredulously as the lieutenant gave him the chip.

"Of course it does," Walsh said confidently, "I designed it."

Travers gave the chip a close look over. The Council used drugs to keep vampires placid by getting them addicted. This by contrast seemed like such a simple solution it almost felt like an insult that no one at the Council had come up with it. Then again it was ordinary. And most definitely American. Always hooked on electronics gadgets.

"I almost feel sorry for him now," he said as he handed the chip back to the lieutenant.

"Don't," the lieutenant said back, "he killed at least four of my men before we captured him. As far as I'm concerned he's just meat."

"Installing the chip has been the least of his improvements," Walsh said almost excited as she touched a computer and brought up a series of schematics on the big screen, "We not only gave him superior versions of the technology we found in the recovered android, we also installed miniaturized versions of captured Goa'uld technology inside him. He literally has the best of both worlds inside him."

Travers approached Spike cautiously and examined him.

"Amazing, I can't see anything," he said, feeling a sense of awe, then he looked at Walsh again, "I still do not feel comfortable with using a vampire though. Even with a chip they tend to be headstrong. It is not for nothing that they have been giving us the most trouble. There are many kinds of demon that are far more powerful or vicious. Yet its always vampires that cause us the most trouble."

"I feel better if we were to use demons instead for the project and destroy this one altogether. At the very least erase his mind completely so he won't cause us any more troubles. He always does."

"Have no worry, Sir Travers," Walsh said confidently, "Hostile 17 is just a prototype. We only used him because, well, he's the only one who survived the program this far. All the others died long before. That is why we need your help."

"When we were tracking Hostile 17 he exhibited behavior and tactics similar to those participants who took part in the US Air Force Babylon project," Jackson added, "Men who received training by the Alien. They now all exhibit increased agility, muscle speed, dexterity and strength. Hostile 17 has similar traits."

"It could be vampire related. They are known for their increased strength," Travers countered but Walsh shook her head

"The men under my command have received improvements that place them well above vampires and most demons," she said, "They are easily equal, if not better to those soldiers that have partaken in the US Air Force Babylon Project. It took them great guile to capture Hostile 17. He was at least ten times as strong as a regular vampire when we caught him. And as luck has it it turns out that Hostile 17 was reported as sighted in Sunnydale in 1998-99. When the Alien arrived on Earth."

"You think there is a connection?" Travers asked incredulously. But he knew the answer before she even gave it. Hell, he knew it even better then she did. Spike had been in that town during that time. And Rupert Giles had stated that Spike had been involved in many of the problems of that time, until he switched sides against Angelus and helped them defeat the Judge and Angelus. So who knew what had happened at the time?

What he did know was that Spike was reported to have joined the professional underground fighting circuit. Taking on demons that no vampire should be able to take. And win.

"I _know_ there is a connection," Walsh said as she displayed some more graphs on the big screen, "as you can see Hostile 17 had increased vital statistics upon capture, making him the strongest HST we've captured so far. Which is why we were able to introduce so much improvements into him. But as I said before, we are reaching the limits of what we can do. Either we need better technology, or we need better knowledge on demons. And since we are unable to consult either Gero or the Goa'uld we must resort to the latter."

Walsh brought up some new designs and schematics that piqued Travers' interest.

"Now, this is what I have in mind," she said and began to explain. After she was finished Sir Cretin actually looked impressed.

"What we are trying to do," he said in awe, "this power, it's like unto the Gods."

x

x

A-Day minus 254

x

" _Wake up."_

" _I can't."_

" _You will."_

" _I can't. Don't you think that I've tried, you git?"_

" _Try again."_

" _Sod off!"_

The voice fell silent for a moment. Then it returned.

" _So this is how it's going to be then, William? Never figured you for a quitter"_

" _Don't call me by that name, you git!"_

" _So there is some life in you left?"_

" _Sod off. Leave me alone."_

" _They're going to wipe your sorry ass and all you care about is moping?"_ the voice said incredulously, _"You're pathetic. If Angel knew this he would laugh his ass off."_

" _Angel is dead. So sod off."_

The voice said nothing for a while.

" _Actually, you're wrong, but that's beside the point. Wake up, William! Also known as William the Bloody! Also known as Spike! Wake up before they will erase whatever is left of your sad vampiric existence and all that will be left of you is your pathetic undead carcass!"_

The voice spoke with so much force that Spike couldn't help but open his eyes. As he did he noticed that he was looking towards a ceiling. Always the bloody ceiling.

It wasn't the first time he had awoken in this funny farm of the demonically insane looking up to the ceiling. Each time he had been helpless. Unable to move, like his body wasn't his anymore and just some unseen observer, while people dressed in sterile suits hovered over him.

But this time the ceiling was moving.

To his increasing surprise he could even move his head as he looked around. He was being dragged by two men on a trolley through what seemed like an endless white corridor.

" _Get up, Spike,"_ the voice in his head spoke again, _"Get up and escape. Because once this 'ride' is over I won't be able to help you anymore. Once you 'arrive' it's going to be 'game over, man'."_

Carefully not to alert the two goons pulling his trolley Spike tried to move his right hand and found that, again to his surprise, he could move it.

" _Get up and kick their ass,_ " the voice told him.

" _Are you daft?"_ Spike thought back, _"Nurse Ratchet told me she had implanted some chip in my brain. I can't hurt anybody."_

" _I can see that might be a problem,"_ the voice conceded, _"Still, there are other ways. They were going to turn you in some super soldier, remember? What good is a super soldier who can't hurt anyone? Maybe there is some de-activation switch or routine. Something to turn the thing off and on."_

" _If there is then they didn't tell me, you dumbass!"_ Spike thought back annoyed.

" _Why do I even bother?"_ the voice responded dispirited.

Before Spike could respond one of the goons pulling Spike's trolley turned his head around.

" _Oh bugger."_

"He's awake," the goon said and reached for something that was on his side. The other goon turned around as well and did the same.

"Oh bugger," Spike said, now aloud.

Then something weird happened as time seemed to slow down, with the goons movement now reduced to a snails pace.

" _Quick, do as I say,"_ the voice said in Spikes mind and showed him something.

" _You've got to be kidding me,"_ Spike responded aghast, _"I'll fry up faster then an Englishman in the sun."_

" _Have a little faith,"_ the voice said with just a hint of condescending, _"Just do it, you don't have much time to lose and if I may add, not much too lose anyway. Permanent erasing of your personality, remember?"_

" _Over my dead body,"_ Spike thought back.

" _Weren't you dead already?"_ the voice said droll.

" _Ha, ha,"_ Spike said annoyed. Then he sat up straight, faster then he ever could have done before his capture and brought the fingers of his hands to both temples of his head.

"TAIYO KEN!"

A blinding flash erupted from him and both goons reached for their faces, like they had seen directly into the sun. At point blank range. Still in slow motion though.

"Well I'll be damned," Spike said surprised, "it worked."

" _Of course it would,"_ the voice inside his head said smug, _"Now if I may give you another suggestion, "this might be a good moment to bugger off?"_

"Of course," Spike said and jumped off the trolley. As he ran away something occurred to him.

"Who the fuck are you?" he asked the voice, "Did I go insane in this place? Gone Dru or something?"

" _Sanity is relative,"_ the voice said chortling with glee.

"Very funny," Spike snorted, "Great, now I've gone bonkers too. Next thing I'll know Miss Edith will make an appearance."

" _Maybe your former girlfriend was attuned to a higher level of consciousness? Maybe she actually did saw all the beings you thought were just imaginary? Have you ever considered that?"_ the voice asked.

"Look, figment of my imagination, "Spike said back, "I'm the first to admit that Dru was plugged into something. Always had been. Always been a bit loopy though. But never as much as after Prague. She never talked to invisible people before and….. aw, bugger! Just give it to me straight. Am I insane or not?"

" _They say that sane people worry about being insane whereas the insane just know that they are sane,"_ the voice responded.

"That's no answer," Spike grunted, "sane people also don't get tortured by Nurse Ratchet for God knows how long."

" _You're as sane as you ever were,"_ the voice replied offhand, _"that is, as sane as a 140 year old human turned vicious demon filled vampire could ever be. So no, you're not talking to your former girlfriend's imaginary voice."_

"Then who the fuck are you?"

" _Let's just say that Drusilla isn't the only one attuned to voices from higher spheres,"_ the voice said droll, _"that a certain alien from another planet, who resides in Sunnydale California, also talks to voices inside his head. That he is also attuned to certain higher spheres. MY higher sphere."_

"Aw bugger," Spike groaned, "don't tell me it was _you_ who sent the Big Scary this way?"

" _Well, don't be so droll, Spike? Curse him for all you want but once you escape, who otherwise will be able to protect you from Nurse Ratchet and her goon squads?"_


	5. Interlude 'Sleep Now in the Fire'

**Interlude**

 **'Sleep Now in the Fire'**

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AN: _This started out as part of the overall story but as I progressed I couldn't find a place in any of the chapters to put it in. But it is still a part of this story. So here it is instead._

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The battle against the mayor was by now beyond exhaustion. It had gone beyond extension and injury time into sheer survival or else. The massive demon that used to be the town's mayor had shrugged off anything but the kitchen sink and then some. By now they were beyond desperation and all that kept them going was the knowledge that neither escape nor surrender was any option.

Pickles had just gotten a bad case of the smack down but two of Goku's friends were coming in to distract the demon-mayor long enough for Pickles to pick himself up and get back into the fight. Say one thing about the Green One, he was committed. Even the Dynasty wardrobe had come off long ago.

Not wanting to prove herself any less Buffy launched her own attack right after Goku's friends, to give them a chance to retreat as well.

It worked.

Only nobody was able to distract the demon-mayor long enough to buy her time to get away in return.

She managed to get away, but only just as she fell to the ground after having received the mother of all smack downs.

THUD!

The ground, usually so comforting, made for a very hard place to come to a sudden hard stop, Buffy thought. Especially when your whole body aches and tires. She closed her eyes for a moment and let the pain take over for a moment. Over the years she had learned that if you gave yourself briefly over to the pain it made it easier to deal with it and put it away in a closed section of her mind. Kind of acknowledging its existing so the pain knew it was being heard.

She must have been hurt pretty much because she could swear her pain was giggling.

Taking a deep sigh Buffy hoped Willow would come by and do that nifty magic thing that would take away the pain. Not the tiredness. That was impossible. But Buffy could definitely settle for the pain thing.

Somebody knelt by her side. Ah, Willow was here. Buffy opened her eyes.

And looked straight into those of Faith.

"Faith?" she said surprised. Faith said nothing, she only grinned. And let her fist do the talking. Only sheer Slayer instinct was helped Buffy move her head just in time to evade Faith's fist as it impacted with the ground beside her with so much force the ground cracked. Buffy counter attacked swinging her legs, trying to hit Faith on the one hand and gain enough momentum to leave the ground.

Unfortunately for Buffy unlike her Faith was fresh and easily evaded Buffy's leg swinging for her. But it did serve the other purpose of bringing her on her feet.

"Look Faith," Buffy panted as the two Slayers eyed each other wearily, "I'm sorry. We should have done better. We…."

"Don't bother, B.," Faith said as her grin turned to a psychotic smile, "I've heard enough of your lame excuses."

"Then what do you want, Faith?" Buffy asked as the two began to circle each other.

"Simple, B.," Faith smiled, "You killed my boss, now I'm gonna kill you."

Faith launched herself at Buffy and the two began to fight. And it wasn't an even handed fight as Buffy was aching and tiring from having fought Faith's boss all day while the dark Slayer had entered the game fresh.

"Your Watcher should be thrilled," Faith laughed as she whipped Buffy's ass, "finally the Slayer line will be united again. No more senior and junior Slayer. In the end there can be only one."

"Funny," Buffy said as she counterattacked with a series of punches that proved she still had a few tricks up her sleeve, "I was thinking the exact same thing."

Buffy followed up her attack with an energy attack, but Faith easily deflected that.

"Come on, B., you can do better then that," Faith taunted her opposite, "Let me show you how it's really done."

Faith brought her right hand to her head and put two fingers on her forehead, letting them glow. As she grinned ferally Buffy recognized what Faith was going to do and decided to go all out as well. Taking a few steps backwards she cupped her hands beside her and began to concentrate power in them.

"Ka. Me. Ha. Me."

"Again?" Faith sneered as she saw the pale blue energy begin to glimmer inside Buffy's hands, "how unoriginal."

"Like your move is so original," Buffy huffed back, "Hello, Pickles called, he wants his Makankosapo back."

"At least I didn't chose mine based on the pretty lights alone, little miss cheerleader," Faith bit back.

Buffy wanted to yell that she wasn't a cheerleader. At least, not since quite some time that is. Instead, as both girls powered up their attacks she heard something.

Somebody was giggling.

Normally she would have shrugged it off as a figment of her imagination but she could see on Faith's face that she had also heard it.

"Did…., did you hear that as well?" Faith asked tentatively and Buffy nodded.

"I also heard it," Buffy echoed as her eyes moved from left to right to find a source of the laughter.

"That's like the second time I've heard it," Faith said nervously, "You know what they say."

"One's an accident, twice a conspiracy?" Buffy replied, "do we really want to wait for the third?"

In Sunnydale the creepy took precedence over personal vendettas.

"Truce?" Faith asked wearily.

"Truce," Buffy agreed, "You go first?"

"Like hell," Faith snorted, "on the count of three?"

Buffy nodded.

"One, two, three."

The two Slayers stopped energizing their attacks and absorbed the energy back into their bodies. No sooner had they done so when there was another bout of giggling.

"It came from over there," Faith said as she looked over her shoulder.

"I think it came from over here," Buffy said and looked over her shoulder. She didn't see anything but as soon as she looked back at Faith, the Dark Slayer was gone.

She was also no longer amongst the rubble of Sunnydale High.

Instead she appeared to be in what looked like some old temple. The kind built by old geezers who died a long, long time ago. Like the ones you saw on documentaries on the Discovery Channel in some forgotten jungle or desert in faraway Crapholistan. This one could have been taken straight from one of those documentaries as there seemed to be evidence of recent digging and excavations all over the place.

Somebody had been busy here as Buffy examined the abandoned gear amidst the ruins. Abandoned digging equipment lying about amidst electrical lighting gear being strewn across the ruins spelled doom in Buffy's book. For three years in Sunnydale and all three Indiana Jones movies had taught her that no good ever came from excavating in ancient ruins and crypts. Especially the lights seemed ominous as the old temple no longer had a roof over most parts and was open to the sky.

As Buffy looked up she looked into an orange sky. Uh oh. She no longer seemed to be in Kansas any more. Where was Shimrod the Grey when you needed him?

She moved closer to the walls and saw they were covered in writings. Giles would probably have a field day with this. She didn't recognize any of it herself. And not just because she was the research ditz of the group. She may be action girl instead of research girl, she had however spent quite a considerable amount of time in Giles' books to at least gain a passing knowledge of every language. Knowledge in the sense that she could recognize if a written language looked like the ones in Giles' books. And these writings didn't look like they were even mentioned in any of the footnotes.

That worried her even more, for the only thing more uber wig then creepy ancient temples with creepy ancient artefacts were creepy ancient _alien_ temples with creepy ancient _alien_ artefacts.

She didn't have time to freak out as suddenly she heard the giggling again. Buffy turned around to see where the annoying sound was coming from. Instead she was alone still.

But not for long as she could see that something was moving in the temple's entrance. Somebody or something was coming. Considering that discretion was the better part of valour Buffy hid behind a large stone something and watched what happened next.

A group of humans entered the temple. To her surprise she recognized most of the people. They were Colonel Cassandra and his merry men, Major Blonde, Murray the alien tough guy. And the new guy she had seen at the wedding. Another guy was with them also, an older bald man who seemed to be guiding them. And then came the greatest surprise of all.

Belmo!

Why on wherever the hell she was was Belmo with these guys? He should know by now that bad stuff happened whenever he went off world with these guys.

Old guy led them into the heart of the temple, close to where Buffy was hiding. Upon finding the dig site old guy stopped cold, then he began to express great despair, like they had arrived too late.

Well, duh. No surprise there, Sherlock. What gave it away? All the abandoned gear from Archeologists r'us?

While old guy was experiencing his 'game over, man' moment the others began to examine the dig site. While the blonde major took pictures the new guy of the group, Buffy had never bothered to learn his name even though he had been at the wedding, he jumped right into the dig site to get a closer look. Firmly a believer in the hands on approach. Belmo just crouched at the edge to have a look, then he turned to the old man and spoke to him. Probably to get a grip on things. With Colonel Cassandra joining in. The only person unperturbed was the large alien guy, Murray. Actually his name was teal slash something, a real tongue breaker. Which is why she stuck to Murray. But he was the stoic of the group, really unflappable. Also a huge Star Wars geek so he and Xander had always hit it off together. And he was kinda okay.

As it seemed like the group had come too late Belmo took charge and demanded that old guy explained to him some of the markings that were on the walls.

Typical!

Can't get to the artifact in time? Find out as much as you can so you can still destroy it.

As the group moved on to examine some of the walls Murray suddenly came around the big stone something that Buffy was hiding about. Holding his big f***ing alien ray gun he looked right at where she was.

And walked on like she wasn't even there.

Perplexed Buffy looked first at Murray, then at her own hands like she could see straight through them. There was no way he could have missed her. And even if he did, the guy was chi trained. He had trained alongside Riley. Riley even said he thought that Teal'c, that was his name, that Teal'c had been amongst the best of them. If anybody should have seen her hiding, it was him.

But Murray walked straight on like she didn't even exist. Was she invisible or something? She pushed against the big stone something. At least she wasn't incorporeal as her hand didn't disappear in the big stone something.

Colonel Cassandra called out towards Murray and the big alien nodded, then came towards the others. Again passing Buffy and ignoring her. That clinched it, she was invisible.

Buffy got up from behind the big stone something and walked towards the others, who seemed all intent on watching a particular section of the wall. Old guy was explaining or translating with Belmo and new guy asking questions. Then the group began to discuss.

It was then that Buffy heard giggles again. Again she turned around to look where the infernal giggling was coming from. She half expected not to find anyone or anything. It didn't happen the last time, why should it now?

Only this time she did saw something.

Crouched on top of the big stone something she had hidden behind sat a monster. Not a big one as it was about her size. If she had been twelve. And it kinda looked like the monster from Alien. Only without the teeth and the tail. And in pink.

It was sheer demonic evil as her speedy senses began to scream bloody murder.

"Uh, guys," Buffy said out loud. But whatever was making her invisible also made her inaudible.

To Belmo and the others that is who continued their discussion. The creature however looked at Buffy like it had heard her and could see her. Then it grinned and shook its head. It leaped off the big stone something and made for her.

It closed the distance like it was a Saiyan on steroids. Teal'c was the first to notice it and brought his big f***ing alien ray gun to bear. But not fast enough as the creature swatted him aside like he weighed nothing, sending him and his big f***ing alien ray gun halfway across the temple. The others, not trained in the art of chi fighting followed even faster. That left only Belmo.

To his credit the Saiyan knew something was up the moment Teal'c started his unscheduled lesson in unpowered flight. Upon seeing the monster Belmo stepped in front of the blonde major before it could lay a finger on her. The price however for protecting her was that it slightly delayed Belmo's power up to deal with the monster.

Naturally the monster took advantage of that. Grinning ferally it leaped and crashed into the Saiyan, sending it down to the ground. As it did it managed to get behind the Saiyan, wrap its legs around his waist and its arms around his neck and began to squeeze the life out of Belmo..

"Shoot it!" Buffy heard Colonel Cassandra yell to the blonde major.

"I can't!" the major yelled back, her gun trained on the creature, "I'd hit him as well."

"He's fuckin' bulletproof!" the colonel yelled, "Just shoot!"

The blonde major looked at the colonel like she couldn't believe her own ears

"If it can take _him_ down, what good's a P-90 going to do against that thing?" she said back.

As the two officers bickered Buffy tried to step in. She reached out and tried to yank this creature off of Belmo. But instead of yanking him free her hands passed right through the thing.

Great. When it came to everybody else she was the Invisible Girl, but when it came to this thing she was suddenly Casper? What kind of twisted logic was this?

Then the monster looked at Buffy again, his face in a malicious grin. Like her hands may have passed right through it but somehow it again showed it had taken notice of her. She could swear it even winked at her.

And then with a loud snap it broke Belmo's neck.

SNAP!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

With a loud yell Buffy opened her eyes and sat up straight in her bed. Panting heavily she reached for the light switch. After she switched on the light she put her head in her heads and sat there for a while.

"That does it, no more late night cheese," she eventually said. For a moment she looked out of her window and wished Angel was still here. Or that she was over at Riley's. Just somebody who could put her arms around her right now and tell her she just had a bad dream.

But as much as she liked to shove this crazy dream into the darkest recess of her mind and go on sleeping in her sweat soaked sheets, deep down she knew what had to be done.

She reached for her cell phone and dialed a number.

"Hi Giles, it's me," she said, "are you awake?... Oh, I'm sorry…. At least I didn't disturb you with some gi…..,I'm sorry ….. I know, even though it never happens it might….. You don't have to get all snippy over it… I know you're a healthy middle aged man with urges. I was just….. Why I called? … I had the dream again… Yes, the same one….. I thought you might be interested….. Why I'm calling in the middle of the night?... I remember a time when I had to tell you every itsy bitsy dream. Preferably in Technicolor….. So you're gonna look it up tomorrow? …. I was hoping you would get a head start right now and… I know it's three in the morning…. And yes, sometimes the dreams mean nothing….. But I got a bad feeling, Giles. This one was different. This time I got a look at the thing's face. And I touched it. It's evil, Giles. Demony evil. And it knows me. It looked right at me like I was there… Yes. Oh dear indeed….. How it looked?... Same as before, all pink, only this time I got a better look at its face. It had this mark on its forehead. I think it's a symbol….. You're coming right over?…. No, no trouble at all. It's not like everybody left for Vegas and left me behind or something…. See you in ten minutes."

Since she was now clearly awake Buffy left her bed and moved to her study desk. She sat down behind her desk, switched on the light and picked up a pencil. Next she reached for a slip of paper and began to draw while she could still vividly remember her dream. Starting with the mark on the demon's forehead.

It kinda looked like an M.


	6. Chapter Three

**Chapter 3**

 **'Calm Like a Bomb'**

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AN: _w00t! Chapter three already. The plot thickens!_

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A-Day minus 252

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"Ha! Buffy with food, my favorite combination."

Buffy turned her head and saw Xander enter the Summers' kitchen through the backdoor.

"Hi, Xander," Joyce said as she picked up a large trey full of assorted raw meat, "glad you could make it."

Seeing that the woman had her hands full Xander gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"And miss the patented Summers barbeque?" he grinned, "Do you think you have enough?"

Joyce gave him an frowning look.

"You know who's also going to be eating, right? Saiyans and their stomachs."

"I'm sure he can whip up something extra," Xander grinned, "He and Willow are pretty good at that kind of stuff."

"He prefers not too," Buffy said as she was cutting vegetables for a salad, "something about it being a copy of a copy and how it is much easier to 'create' some money to buy real food instead."

"I hear Will can do it digitally," Xander nodded, "create virtual money out of nowhere."

"That's no magic," Joyce snorted derisively as she walked to the backdoor, "The Fed can do it also. They just print some extra money. Oh, and FYI, it's no longer the Summers barbeque. I'm a married woman again, remember."

"You should change the sign on the porch then," Xander called after her as she went into the garden, then he turned towards Buffy, a grin appearing on his face from ear to ear, "So how does it feel to be Buffy Movekk?"

"Well, don't expect any change in my passport just because Belmo put on a show," she said dicing an onion.

"But it rolls so nicely of the tongue," Xander smirked as he leaned beside her on the kitchen counter, "Buffy Movekk. Hmmm, Buffy Movekk the Vampire Slayer "

"Not like there's a whole lot to slay these da…..," Buffy said , then she stopped and looked at Xander and pointed her knife at Xander, You knew!"

"How should I know? Am I your father's keeper?" Xander said quasi-innocent as he tried to fish for a tasty morsel from the salad Buffy had been working on.

"Don't you play innocent with me," Buffy grumbled and lunged her knife at Xander'[s hand, which he narrowly evaded by pulling it back, "The moment I saw Faith roll over the grass I saw your goofy grin, mister. You knew he was going to pull that stunt."

"You could have hurt me," Xander said aggrieved as he looked at her knife, then his hand.

"You would have lived," Buffy shrugged indifferent.

"There would have been blood in the salad, Buff," Xander said pointing to the salad, "blood in the salad!"

"Think of it as my special sauce," Buffy smiled impishly, causing Xander to shake his head.

"Summers Women are crazy," Xander sighed, "Alright. I admit it, I did suspect he was going to pull that stunt. It's what they have to do, Buff. If a Saiyan father doesn't publicly recognize a child as his own it doesn't inherit anything."

"What's there to inherit?" Buffy said as she pointed around her mother's kitchen, "Planet Bad Hairdo's gone. Do I own the family asteroid now?"

Xander cupped his chin as he pretended to think.

"He probably did it for Vegeta's sake. To clear up any potential problems."

Buffy rolled her eyes, then used her free hand to smack her forehead.

"Oh god, does this mean the Prince of Dorkness is now also the boss of me?"

"I reckon so," Xander echoed, then he again reached for that tasty morsel he had his eyes on before.

"He wasn't even there," Buffy said dispirited.

"Who?" Xander asked, popping the morsel in his mouth.

"Vegeta, who else?" Buffy replied, "I mean, if his royal assholeness can't be bothered to come, why put up the show to begin with"

Xander looked upwards, then shrugged.

"Doesn't matter if the Prince of Dorkness was there or not. There were witnesses," he said, then he put a hand on her shoulder, "Besides, I think all that he really wanted to do was to show that he loves you."

"I know," Buffy said, averting her eyes, "But if he wanted to do that, why not so in the time honored tradition of buying me a pony?"

Xander raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you a little too old for a pony?"

"A girl's never too old to get a pony," Buffy pouted.

"I'll pass it along," Xander chuckled, then his face turned serious, "I hope you don't mind, but I kinda invited Faith and Pickles along."

Buffy gave him a stern look, then she shook her head.

"Why would I mind?" she said, "It's not like it's going to be like, you know, awkward much? Like at the wedding."

"I know," Xander admitted, "but I think it's important. We have to make her feel like she's part of the gang again."

Buffy put down her knife and rested both her hands on the kitchen counter.

"I don't think she ever was part of the gang, Xan," she said softly.

"We didn't make her feel part of the gang," Xander replied, "We were the ones who chased her away."

"She's not a team player," Buffy countered, then she put up her hand to stop Xander from interfering, "Hear me out, I don't mean that in a bad way. She'll work with a team. But she's like Pickles. He'll fight with his friends, and hang out with them, but he doesn't want to stay with them. He always goes back into the wilderness at some point. That's his thing. And his friends understand that. She's like that. She wants to be accepted, but she also has to do her own thing. Separate from us."

Xander mulled that over for a moment.

"That's very…., insightful of you, Buff," he said softly.

"Well, I kinda come from the same experience," Buffy shrugged as she picked up her knife again and began to dice again, "there were times when I'd rather wish you guys had an elsewhere to be. So I could deal with the bad guys more effectively."

"We were such klutzes back then, weren't we," Xander said as tried to pick another tasty morsel again, "always getting in the way of slay adjacent."

"Quite," Buffy said as she hit Xander's hand with the flat side of her knife.

"Auw!" Xander said as he withdrew his hand and rubbed the sore spot of where she had hit him, "Watch out with that thing, will ya? You could have cut me."

"Puhlease," Buffy snorted with a wicked grin, "Slayer handling skills with weapons, remember? And even if I did, special sauce, remember?"

"Summers women," Xander muttered in semi-disgust.

"Shouldn't you say: Movekk women?" Buffy chortled.

"Ha!" Xander said triumphantly as he pointed towards Buffy, "so you _do_ admit it!"

"Well, don't count on me going to the County Clerk yet," Buffy snorted, "I like being called Buffy Summers."

"You'd think considering the way your father abandoned you, you'd jump on the first chance to get rid of his name," Xander mused.

"Whatever my sperm donor did has nothing to do with who I am," Buffy said as she shot him an angry look, "I like being Buffy Summers. I think I've earned being called Buffy Summers. If anyone has to change his name it's the sperm donor that impregnated my mother. Belmo understands, so drop it."

Xander pretend to zip an imaginary zipper across his lips.

"Consider it dropped," he said deadpan.

For a moment neither said nothing. Buffy continued chopping vegetables and Xander decided to get himself a soda from her fridge. As he did Buffy glanced outside, to the garden where the others were. Giles was chatting with the giant Namek, probably discussing old stuff again. Will was there with her girlfriend Tara. Which was probably another victory in her battle against Belmo's gay prejudices. He hadn't given her a hand yet today but Mom had said that Belmo had actually said hello to the girl. Which was a huge victory for Will in its own right.

Mom meanwhile was holding her sister Mayan as she was with her husband. Who was busy with the barbeque. Occasionally Belmo looked towards her mother and smiled. Causing Buffy to smile herself. It still felt weird to her, but she could see they were happy. And that made her happy as well.

Not that far from them sat Faith, with little Dawn in her lap, peering at the Dark Slayer like she was the most interesting thing in the world. Typical. While Mayan was a very quiet and easy to handle child Dawn was always on the move. Always interested in the latest and newest thing. And today that was Faith. And Dawn just had to show Faith her new toys. To her credit the Dark Slayer held herself well under all the attention.

But something was amiss. Cause Buffy could see that Faith wasn't paying full attention to Dawnie's toys. She was glancing a lot to a different direction. And even from here Buffy could say their were glances of suspicion.

Faith was eyeing Xander's friend Angela wearily.

The former pornstar turned empty shell with just a hint of crazy and dangerous monster inside her sat alone, in her traditional bored pose.

"I can't believe you brought her here," Buffy said as she shot Angela a suspicious glance of her own, "She gives me the wig. Extra-large with fries and a coke."

"I can't just leave her," Xander said with closed eyes, "all she does is stare ahead. She almost never talks anymore, she never looks up when I walk into the room. All she does is sit there doing the thousand mile stare."

"I'm sorry, Xander," Buffy said apologetic. She may not like having Xander's weird friend in the house, but knowing him it sucked even more for him.

Xander didn't reply for a moment, then he looked away.

"You wanna hear something funny," he finally said.

"What?"

"Sometimes I wake up at night and she's gone," Xander said deadpan.

Suddenly Buffy felt even more crept out, having visions of Angela sitting in her room watching her sleep. If that was funny to Xander then so help her that green god, she really didn't want to know what Xander thought was creepy.

"Ew," she shuddered, "maxi-wig here, Xan. Angelus just called, He wants his obsessive stalker behavior back."

"No, it's not like that," Xander said waving his hands as he tried to put her at ease, "she goes out and sits on the roof. Looking at the night sky. Mostly the moon."

Buffy nearly hit Xander on the head.

"And what part of there being a mindless full moon transforming wereape inside her don't you get?" she asked incredulously.

"She's got no tail," Xander shrugged indifferent.

"Hello, Earth to Xander, reality department calling in," Buffy said even more incredulously, "And what part of her transforming without a tail in the past don't you understand?"

"There was no full moon in the past," Xander shrugged again, "I've seen her sit on the roof during a full moon and she didn't transform."

"Isn't it better to be safe then to be sorry?" Buffy asked.

"I dunno," Xander sighed, "I think she becomes more lucid when the moon grows full."

Buffy glanced over her shoulder at Angela.

"You mean she actually replies in full sentences?" Buffy asked. She immediately regretted saying that. Xander had gone above and beyond the call of duty taking care of this girl. Especially after they had gone back in time thanks to Xander's magic buddy Gandalf the Weird. And to this day she still wasn't sure if it was more then this debt he owed her. What she did know was that Crazy Lady was sucking the cheer out of her Xander shaped friend. And that she really should learn to keep her big mouth shut in regards to her.

Even if Crazy Porno Lady did freak her out.

"I could use a beer," Xander sighed.

"Alcohol free zone, remember?" Buffy said quasi-apologetic, "Riley said he would bring some though."

"Ah, the US Cavalry to the rescue," Xander said approvingly.

"Don't let him hear you say that," Buffy chortled, "You know them army types, always insulted if you say they are part of something they're not."

"Not my fault they have so many kinds of army," Xander shrugged, "if you ask me they should have stuck with just one."

"Amen to that!" Buffy echoed. No sooner had she said it when the back door opened and in walked Riley Finn.

"I come baring gifts," Riley grinned as he held up two six-packs of beer and put them on the kitchen table. Xander immediately grabbed a can.

"If I were of the female kind I would so want to bear your children right now, Major Finn, " Xander said as he opened the can. Causing Riley to give Buffy a weird look.

"Did I, uh, miss something," he asked somewhat puzzled as Xander drank deeply from the can.

"Oh foamy nectar of goodness," Xander said as he smacked his lips, "take me in your loving embrace. Oh, cold one, nice."

Buffy didn't reply and neither did Xander as he stepped through the back door into the garden.

"I guess he was really thirsty then," Riley shrugged, then he smiled and put his arms around Buffy's waist, "So how's my girl?"

"Busy," Buffy said as Riley put his head on her shoulder, then she saw him reach for some tasty morsel, "touch that and you'll lose a finger, Captain Cardboard."

"But then you'll get blood all over your salad?" Riley objected.

"Think of it as special sauce," Buffy smiled as she looked over her shoulder and gave Riley a kiss.

"Summers women are crazy," Riley sighed, "And why do you keep calling me Captain Cardboard? I'm a major now."

"Would you rather have it that I call you Major Moron?" Buffy asked deadpan.

"Touché," Riley echoed.

"So how are things back at work?" Buffy asked.

"The usual," Riley shrugged, "lots of paperwork. Lot's of trainees complaining."

"I'm sure you'll put them through hell," Buffy said.

"Oh, I will," Riley said as an evil grin grew on his face, "It's true what they say, it's much more fun being in charge of training then getting it."

"I thought so."

Riley let go of Buffy, reached for a can of beer and opened it, taking a swig.

"Burns sends his best," he said.

"Oh, fine," Buffy said distant.

Riley took another swig.

"Is there something wrong?" he finally asked, "You seem a little distant."

Buffy stopped slicing vegetables and put her knife down.

"I had the dream again," she said softly. Riley stopped drinking and put the can down.

"What? Again?" he said as took her by the shoulders, "That's like three nights in a row. Are you sure it's the same one?"

"I know my dreams," Buffy said resolutely, "been having them since I became a Slayer. Something's gonna happen. Something's bad."

Riley gave Buffy's shoulder a gentle squeeze to show he was there for her. Although he felt a little out of his league right now. He was a soldier in the US Army (special detachment to the US Air Force), not an expert in the occult. Even though since coming to this town he had had more then his fill in the occult, thank you very much. Even more so since getting involved with this gorgeous, be it at times somewhat crazy, woman.

But then again bitter experience had taught him the hard way there were no sane women. There was only differing degrees of crazy.

"Look," he said trying to find the right comforting tone, "I'm a soldier. You tell me where the enemy is and I'll fight him. Unfortunately military intelligence doesn't cover the occult. I'll help you any way I can, Buffy, but I think Mr. Giles is the one you should be talking too."

"I did," Buffy said, "unfortunately Giles doesn't know of any pink demons. Well, he does, but none like that appeared in my dream."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Riley nodded.

"If only I could get a better look of that symbol that was on the demon's forehead," Buffy sighed, "I think it's a letter but Giles thinks it might be a…."

RING!

"You expecting someone?" Riley said as the door bell rang.

"Everyone seems to be here," Buffy said as she glanced into the garden.

"I'll get it," Riley said and was about to leave the kitchen when Buffy stopped him.

"Oh no you don't," she said and handed him the salad bowl, "you take that outside, soldier, you're under my command now!"

Riley stood to attention and pretended to salute.

"Yes sir, ma'am!" he grinned.

RING!

"I'm coming," Buffy yelled annoyed, then she opened the back door for Riley and gave him a pat on his butt, "move it, soldier."

"Left right left right left…." Riley said as he marched out of the Summers' kitchen. Leaving Buffy free to go to the hall to answer the door.

RING!

"You better damn well not be Jehovah's Witnesses," she muttered annoyed as she opened the front door. Then she saw who stood there on her porch.

"Hiya kid," Colonel O'Neill's grinning face said, his team standing behind him, "Did ya miss me?"

x

* * *

x

"I wonder what brought them here this time," Xander mused.

"Nothing good?" Buffy snorted, "The last time some alien took over his body, remember?"

"Technically he's an alien already and last time they were here was two days ago at the wedding," Xander shrugged, causing Buffy to cast him a deathglare

"Are you going to bitch with me or are you going to poop my party?" she asked.

Xander shrugged again.

"I'd love to bitch but I'd have to know what its about first," he said and pointed to the house. After the Air Force soldiers of SG-1 had arrived they wanted to speak with Belmovekk. Not wanting to get involved Faith and Piccolo quickly made their absence. After that Belmovekk, Giles and SG-1 had retired inside, with O'Neill stating that they wanted to talk in private.

"Maybe they're just here for a consult?" Xander suggested.

"Puhlease," Buffy said dismissively, "They could have gotten that at the wedding. Or before of after. They want something from him. And it's bad. We're no longer talking research mode, they need him for fray adjacent."

"Buffy's right," Riley interjected, "it has to be pretty big. Need to know only. Or else they wouldn't order me to stay outside."

Xander gave Riley an odd look.

"You're a soldier. Shouldn't you be going 'nothing to see here' instead of pouring on the flames?"

"I'm also with Buffy," Riley shrugged, "as long as I'm not forced to choose between her and the army I don't see a problem."

Xander wanted to say something but decided not to. Riley and his army buddies had bled alongside them and kept their mouth shut about the Battle of Sunnydale, so that earned him brownie points Big Time. And since he was not undead he scored highly on the 'Not Deadboy' index. So he was okay.

On the other hand he was still an active member of a non-Scooby agency and to be frank, he was no Oz. Ever since the little guitar player had left their group Xander felt he was missing out on some quality male bonding. And the major just wasn't always up to that job, preferring mostly to bond with his fellow army buddies back at the base.

"I should be in there," Buffy said shaking her head, infuriated at being left out.

"Be glad you're outside, Buff," Xander countered, "Belmo's protecting you from the military."

"Like they don't know already," Buffy contended, "They've seen Faith in action, you pulled that stunt in El Paso, they saw how we've flattened half of Sunnydale."

"Suspecting something ain't the same as knowing it," Xander argued, "Besides, these SG people seem okay. What's gotten into you, Buff? Why are you so worked up?"

Buffy cast a weary glance at her house.

"Remember when that Goold that had taken over Belmo?" she said.

"Yes."

"They've got one with them."

Xander looked at Buffy, then at her house.

"I can see why that's wig worthy, I still fail to see why you're so powerfreaked?"

Buffy glanced at her home.

"Because I've been dreaming about that guy for three nights in a row now. And they're not the kind of dreams where you wake up in the morning feeling extra happy about yourself."

x

* * *

x

"So what is it that Warleader Hammond wants me to do this time?"

Belmovekk and Giles had taken SG-1 and their guest into the Summers' living room where they made them sit. Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter were sitting on the sofa, their guest to the left of them. Teal'c leaned against the post of the hallway while Jonas Quinn seemed fascinated by some of Joyce's glasswork collection.

Meanwhile Belmovekk had seated himself on one of the chairs opposite the colonel, with Giles by his side.

"Well, in this case, it's not so much a question of us wanting you to do anything," O'Neill said, "We do manage to do well without you. Besides, You've given us a lot of grief as well."

"Didn't he give you guys that big spaceship?" Jonas Quinn called, still enthralled from Joyce's glasswork, "the one you like to park over other planets too, as you say it, show them who's boss?"

Colonel O'Neill briefly glanced upwards before letting out a big sigh.

"Yes, he also gave us a big space ship," he sighed, then he looked at Belmovekk and shook his head, "you have to excuse him. Still the new guy."

Belmovekk looked briefly over his shoulder, causing Jonas to look back and smile at him.

"We were sorry to hear Dr. Jackson passed away," Giles said, "I only met him briefly but he greatly impressed me with his knowledge and keen intellect."

"You are most kind," Teal'c replied and gave a slight bow.

"Well, bad shit happens," O'Neill shrugged, "You get old, you die. And sometimes you don't get old."

"On my world we had a saying," Belmovekk said, "when death calls, make sure you are worthy of his call. From what little I know, Dr. Jackson proved more then worthy of that call."

"Am I the only one who thinks the conversation grows more and more morbid," SG-1's guest remarked.

His remark caused Belmovekk to look at him, quite intensely actually.

"You are not quite of this world," he finally said.

"Yeah, well, he's the reason we're here," O'Neill shrugged, "It's not Hammond who wants you, it's him."

"Be weary of him, he is Tok'ra," a voice laden with overtones whispered in Belmovekk's ear. Suddenly the Saiyan no longer found himself in his wife's living room and was instead transplanted to a large plain of yellow grass underneath a blue sun. Not far from him he could see the spitting image of himself lying in the grass, dressed in gold Goa'uld armor, enjoying the sunshine.

Strangely enough, even though the Goa'uld had lifted this location from his memories Belmovekk couldn't recognize the place. He had always suspected that when he wasn't bothering him consciously, whatever the hell the Goa'uld still was, was burrowing through his memories. This confirmed it. In a way it worried the Saiyan that this…, whatever he was, had such free access to what made him be himself.

"You know, I've always liked blue suns," Amūn sighed looking up into the sky, "it reminds me of the planet I was born on."

"Don't tell me you brought me here to discuss the color of stars," Belmovekk said annoyed, "I do have an elsewhere to be."

"Stars are funny objects," the Goa'uld said, ignoring the Saiyan's outburst, "The right light can help you reveal the truth. While the wrong light can obfuscate the truth."

Belmovekk sighed.

"Fine, I'll play along. Shed some light on the truth."

The Goa'uld grinned at the Saiyan.

"Do not trust the Tok'ra. For they are traitors against their own kind who oppose the Systemlords. "

Belmovekk folded his arms across his chest.

"I like them already. That makes them bad in what way?"

Amūn closed one eye and peered at Belmovekk with the other intently. Then he pointed towards the blue sun.

"The right light will reveal the truth," he said, "do not mistake opposition towards the Systemlords as benevolence from the Tok'ra. For they are still Goa'uld. Whatever alliance they have with the Tau'ri and Free Jaffa is purely one of convenience."

"Then what do they want?" the Saiyan asked.

"Who knows?" Amūn shrugged, "They are extremists. On this world they would be called terrorists. What do extremists want? To substitute reality with their own of course. Over the bodies of anyone who opposes them if need be. After all, they are the high and mighty guardians of the Truth."

"That is a very cynical point of view," Belmovekk said, "Beldin would have loved you."

Amūn closed his eyes and smiled.

"Mark my words, if it ever came to the fall of the Systemlords the Tau'ri will rue their alliance with the Tok'ra. So my advice to you is to be weary when dealing with them."

With that remark Belmovekk found himself back in Joyce's living room, facing the Tok'ra.

"You are Tok'ra," he said matter of fact.

The Tok'ra looked at Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter.

"I was told you had the ability to sense things," he said impressed, "I did not know it allowed you to recognize Goa'uld symbiotes as well."

"Call it a leftover from the time I was possessed by one," Belmovekk said.

"I have the same experience," Major Carter added, "I too once had a Goa'uld inside me. Only it was a Tok'ra."

"That's how we learned of the fellas," O'Neill said and gestured to the Tok'ra, "meet Selmak. Also known as general Jacob Carter, retired."

Belmovekk looked at the blonde major.

"Are you two related?"

The major looked at the Tok'ra and briefly smiled.

"He is my father," she said proudly.

"I was dying," the Tok'ra said, "When I accepted the symbiont it healed me."

"And in doing so the Tok'ra gained themselves a host that the Tau'ri would trust," the voice of Amūn said as his apparition walked into view, "Is it any wonder they use him as an ambassador to the Tau'ri? See their insidiousness, despite their high words they are still Goa'uld and always will be."

Belmovekk briefly glanced at the Goa'uld specter, then he ignored him. So Amūn went and stood alongside Jacob Carter wearily. Like he could keep a better eye on the Tok'ra this way.

"So what is it that the Tok'ra want from me?" he asked the Tok'ra.

The Tok'ra glanced briefly at Colonel O'Neill, but the colonel just gave him his 'you're on your own, buddy' look. So the Tok'ra scrapped his throat and went ahead.

"Are you familiar with Anubis?"

Both Amūn and Belmovekk glanced at each other.

"I am," Belmovekk replied, "when Amūn was inside my body he used its powers to destroy him."

"Then he failed," Jacob continued, "our operatives have told us that Anubis has managed to reassert himself and regain control over his operations. "

"It's like nothing can kill the bastard," O'Neill said sourly, "he's like Apophis. He just keeps on coming back, only worse."

"I told you he was still alive," Amūn said, like he was being vindicated.

"Anubis has redoubled his efforts to gain control over the Systemlords," the Tok'ra said, "he has even attacked Earth in the past months."

"We came this close once," O'Neill said and held thumb and index finger just millimeters apart, "so technically, you owe us one. Again."

The Tok'ra reached for his attaché briefcase and pulled out a map of the galaxy which he put on the table. It was divided into various colored parts, with one color in particular being dominant, be it divided into several smaller parts.

"Anubis leads a large coalition of smaller Systemlords," Jacob said as he pointed to the large patchwork, "but as you can see he has yet to achieve total mastery over the Systemlords. Powerful Systemlords as Yi still defy him and they hold local superiority. So we are still fortunate."

Belmovekk studied the map.

"Then the solution seems simple," he finally said, "if Anubis is your enemy, support those Systemlords that oppose him. The resulting war will buy us time to deal with the side that wins."

"An alliance with our oppressors, that would be unthinkable, Satiya," Teal'c interjected, be it with a modicum of respect for his revered teacher, "the Goa'uld enslave us. It does not matter which side wins, the Jaffa would still lose."

"Sometimes you must chose the lesser of two evils, Teal'c," the Saiyan replied respectfully, "No matter how distasteful the alliance might be."

Teal'c didn't reply, he just nodded.

"It doesn't matter," the Tok'ra said, "an alliance with the large Systemlords would be of little use."

"If I may ask, why not?" Giles asked, who had so far kept a low profile, "Does not the saying say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend?"

"True," the Tok'ra replied but pointed to a large sway of territory near the center of the map, "but while most of the large Systemlords oppose Anubis, others are sitting on the fence. And chief among them is Baal. The aid that we could give the Systemlords is minimal. Earth only has a single Ha'tak. The Tok'ra have none. Only the Sons of Priya can muster a large force. And even then their combined strength only matches that of a single Systemlord's fleet. And a powerful Systemlord like Baal has many such fleets."

"I see," Belmovekk nodded, "still, do the Tok'ra not have access to a large intelligence network? Sometimes a single piece of information is worth more then entire fleets."

The Tok'ra nodded in return, but it was clear to Belmovekk that the very idea of actually working together with the Systemlords was anathema to the Tok'ra.

"We have a far greater problem at hand," he said and pointed to a place on the edge of the Galaxy, "one of our operatives has alerted us that Anubis has learned of the location of an ancient weapon of terrible power. One that could tip the balance of power in his favor. We need your help in this matter."

"I am still listening," the Saiyan replied amiably so the Tok'ra continued

"As you may or may not know Anubis was once Ascended until he was cast out by the other Ancients. When he was Ascended Anubis learned of many great secrets from the Ancients. Including it would seem the location of the temple of Woe.

"Don't you just love the names, sometimes?" O'Neill grinned, earning another short glare from the Tok'ra.

"The Tok'ra keep many records, including records we've found from before the rise of the Goa'uld," the Tok'ra said, "chief amongst are a set of Ancient documents that were supposedly given to the Tok'ra by one of the last Ancients to ascend. These records foretell of events that have since taken place and of events that are still going to take place."

"You mean prophecies, right?" Giles said as his eyes began to grow big.

"You must excuse my friend," Belmovekk said as he glanced at Giles, "Collecting old prophecies is a hobby of his. Just the thought of there being a new piece out there, shall we say, excites him?"

"It's nothing special," Jonas Quinn said absentmindedly behind them, "I've seen it. It's just a list of events and things. This is way more interesting."

Jonas held up a small glass bird and studied it intently.

"Such amazing craftsmanship," he said admiringly.

"It is from my wife, so please be careful," Belmovekk said looking over his shoulder.

"Anyway," the Tok'ra continued, "the temple of Woe was rumored to house a living weapon, imprisoned there by the Ancients. This weapon was said to be capable of destroying entire galaxies. This power was deemed too great to be allowed free use so the Ancients and their allies imprisoned it."

"God forbid they actually did something useful like destroy it," O'Neill muttered as he rolled his eyes.

"We talked about that, Jack," Jacob said.

"Yeah, right," O'Neill scoffed, "Let them have a good laugh too."

Shooting a quick glance of annoyance the Tok'ra continued.

"The reason the Ancients imprisoned this living weapon was because it was beyond their means to destroy it. The texts that we have state that only something called The Slayer can destroy this weapon."

Both Giles and Belmovekk almost made a discernable noise as they sucked in air in shock. The apparition of Amūn looked at the both of them with thinly veiled amusement.

"You know of what I speak?" Jacob asked as he saw their reaction.

Belmovekk and Giles looked at each other.

"What..., um, uh, makes you..., um, think we..., uh, k-k-know anything of this..., um, Slayer?" Giles asked as he without thinking reached for his glasses and polishing cloth.

"A lot more now then I used to," Colonel O'Neill said as he sat up straight and looked suspiciously at Giles and Belmovekk, "When I first heard Jacob's bull story I thought he was kidding, but now that I'm looking at the two of you squirming I'm starting to think there might be something to it."

Giles wanted to say something but Belmovekk beat him to it.

"And just what might Warleader Carter's story be?" he asked.

The Tok'ra gave O'Neill a puzzled look.

"Warleader?"

"It's his thing, Jacob," O'Neill shrugged, "He likes to talk funny. It amuses him. It means general. We think."

Shooting one more look at the colonel the Tok'ra began his tale.

"Many, if not most of the human cultures in the galaxy originated from Earth. That means they also took with them the stories and myths from Earth. The Goa'uld keep good records of these stories and myths, for their own selfish purposes of course. Since we have operatives amongst the Goa'uld we have kept copies of those records on file as well."

"The stories and myths that have been recorded are as diverse as the cultures they came from. But there are a few myths that transcend into many cultures. One of them being the legend of the Slayer. A mythological warrior, said to be the defender of mankind against its enemies. The legends are diverse, speaking of demons and monsters to something called vampires."

"Surely these are just that, the stuff of legends?" Belmovekk interjected, "I've traveled through this galaxy and others extensively. And I have never encountered anything out there even similar to these creatures. Besides, no legends of this Slayer exist on Earth. Only that..., heavy metal band?"

The Tok'ra nodded in agreement.

"And so we thought at first," he said, "until we accepted Jacob as one of his host. And we learned that legends of these mythical monsters were still very much abundant here. You even make movies about them. Well, not you obviously, Saiyan. But then there is this."

The Tok'ra reached into his attaché briefcase and pulled out a square pad. As soon as he touched it the object came to life and began to show images and data.

"These are the records of the Goa'uld Ra during his occupation of Earth," Jacob continued, "it tells of how his occupational forces encountered various mythical beings that looked and behaved very much like the creatures of lore. It even lists several cases of Jaffa being attacked at night by humans exhibiting above natural strength who tried to drain them of their blood. At least two garrisons were decimated when the Jaffa began to turn on each other after such incidents."

"I see," Belmovekk said as he briefly glanced at Giles, "very interesting. I can understand why that would give some credence to your theories. Still, I have been a warleader myself. I know that troops have a bad habit of giving inflated statements of the enemy to make them look better or cover up their own failings."

"Oh, there is more," O'Neill said smug.

"Why am I not surprised?" Belmovekk said shooting a death glare at the colonel.

"Ra's First Prime also reports being attacked by local resistance forces," the Tok'ra went on, "chief amongst them he identified a group called the Council that Watches. Who supposedly were being led by a warrior woman who called herself The Slayer, She was credited being blessed with above human strength. Ra's First Prime claims to have killed at least two of them, but each time the Council that Watches produced a new one."

The Tok'ra looked up from reading his data pad and looked at the Saiyan.

"Did you know that on P3X2942 there exists an actual religion devoted to the worship of The Slayer? Whose priests call themselves the Council? It's true. They're in the domain of a minor Goa'uld who even goes there claiming she is The Slayer."

Again the Saiyan glanced briefly at Giles and exchanged looks of surprise.

"They're still old stories," Belmovekk shrugged. Jacob smiled and read on from his data pad.

"There are at least eighteen cultures whose myths have it that and I quote 'Into each generation a girl is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. She is the Slayer.'"

"Still stories," Belmovekk said stone faced.

The Tok'ra shot an incredulous look towards Belmovekk.

"My daughter Samantha came up with a search routine that scoured Earth's internet for references of the Slayer, demons and vampires. Do I need to tell you how many hits it came up with?"

"A great number of references does not mean it is true," Belmovekk said flatly, "The internet is also full of conspiracy theories, UFO sightings, alien abductions and the theory of Atlantis. Not to mention tons and tons of obscene imagery."

"God bless the porn," O'Neill said with a slight dreamy expression.

"Sir," Major Carter whispered a little to loud, "You can't say that."

"What's porn?" Jonas Quinn asked puzzled.

"Go check on the internet," the Saiyan said, "but make sure you have, as a friend of mine says, set your firewall and virus protection from stun to kill."

"That's actually good advice," O'Neill echoed as Jonas gave him a puzzled look, "You've got to be kidding right? They let you on the internet and you still haven't….?"

"Ahum," The Tok'ra said as he cleared his throat, "I am fully aware of the nonsense that's on the internet. But even nonsense sometimes has a foundation in truth. I might add that from my point of view as a former US general it looks mighty ironic to have an actual alien make fun of UFO believers. Oh, and did I mention that most of the recent hits dealing with this subject come from this area?"

"It still proves nothing," Belmovekk said without blinking an eye.

"Oh, forcryinoutloud!" O'Neill said impatiently as he rolled his eyes, "Let's cut the bullcrap. We know! It's clear you've been hiding something and all evidence points to your girl being this Slayer. Now, are you going to stop being difficult and start to cooperate? We..., well, they need her help."

Jack's outburst caused quite some heads to be turned.

"Oh, this will be fun," Amūn's apparition said in glee.

"Sir," Major Carter interjected, "Do you think this is wise?"

"You can't just have her," Giles said vehemently, "she's not some weapon or tool to be used by the government."

"Think of it as just borrowing," O'Neill replied.

Meanwhile Belmovekk had sat there staring ahead blankly as all around him people started screaming. It all faded into the background as the Goa'uld spectre hunched down next to him.

"What's it going to be, Saiyan?" Amūn smiled, "They've come to take her away. Despite everything you have done they have learned the truth. And to think even I had all the answers to this puzzle in my own archives."

Belmovekk turned his head towards the grinning Goa'uld, then he stood up.

"Enough!" he yelled and pointed towards Colonel O'Neill, "Here is what we will do. This conversation stops right here, right now. There will be no more talk of Slayers or the girl. Any business you have with her you now have with me."

"I'd hate to say this but we really need the girl," the Tok'ra said, "the ancient Ancient text from our archives clearly states that if this creature were ever to be unleashed only the Slayer can destroy it."

"Tough luck," Belmovekk said resolutely, "I know the girl. She has made great progress but she has a long way to go still before she can do what I can. I will suffice."

"But….," The Tok'ra tried to say but Belmovekk cut him off.

"I said no more talk, worm," the Saiyan said, putting extra emphasis on the last word.

"Don't you call Jacob that way," O'Neill protested, "like it or not you are still an illegal alien in this country. And while technically, yes, he does have an alien worm inside his body, he's still a former officer of this country. So can it! Or else…."

"Or else what?" the Saiyan said defiantly and put his right hand into the air and snapped his fingers. The moment he did a small earthquake began to rock the house.

Crash!

As the house was rocking pieces of Joyce's glassware birds and angels began to fall but the Saiyan seemed unperturbed.

"Up till now I have played nice," he said as the earthquake continued, "if need be however I can blow up every town and city in this country. I could easily blow up this world if I have to. So I will say this again, for your benefit, and mine, the girl and her friends are anathema to you. They are under my protection. Make any move against them and you will have made yourself an enemy. One that pales Anubis, Apophis, Baal and all the rest of the whole kit and caboodle."

The Saiyan snapped his fingers again and the quaking stopped. Then he walked over to the fallen glassware of Joyce and began to gather the broken pieces.

"Now, I again offer my own services instead. Use them to deal with this menace or leave and deal with it yourselves," Belmovekk said as he took the shattered glass pieces in his left hand and waved his right hand over them. As his hand passed the glassware pieces were suddenly whole again.

"And now leave," Belmovekk said as he put the glass angels back on their shelves, "this meeting is over."

x

* * *

x

"I'm going to kill him!"

On the ride to the Sunnydale Air Force base O'Neill hadn't said a word, even though metaphorical thunderclouds were gathering above his head. He finally erupted when they arrived at the base and were shown to their quarters. Throwing the door behind him O'Neill went to his bunk and laid down.

"I swear, I'd rather deal with every Goa'uld combined, and the Replicators thrown in for fun then with a single Saiyan," O'Neill raged, "we should train every gun we have on this town and obliterate it."

"I know you're mad, Jack," The Tok'ra said, trying to calm the colonel down, "but don't make any rash decisions. We still need him."

"We'll live," Jack shrugged, "We've always muddled through."

"I know you've been lucky, Jack," the Tok'ra said, "but the 'We're too lucky to die' plan will only get you so far in life."

"It served us well in the past," Jack shrugged again, "Now, leave me to myself. I'm going to think up pleasing thoughts of using our Ha'tak's main gun on that bastard."

"That might not be such a good idea, Sir," Sam said as she folded away her cell phone, "I've just spoken to Hammond. Apparently Belmovekk made the whole of Southern California shake."

The Tok'ra looked at his daughter, then at Jack again.

"If he has that kind of power then maybe we don't really need the girl," he said.

"And Teal'c told me that he didn't even really exert himself in doing so," Sam added, "we still don't really know what his theoretical upper limit is. Or that of the other two."

Jack wanted to make a snappy reply, instead he noticed something.

"Speaking of Teal'c, where the hell is he?"

"Where do you think, Sir?" Sam said rhetorically.

O'Neill wanted to say something but changed his mind. Instead he made a dismissive wave.

Meanwhile the Tok'ra Jacob Carter opened his briefcase again and pulled out two pictures. One was of Buffy Summers, the other of the girl that was only known to the SGC as Faith.

"Still, it wasn't a complete waste of time," he said as he threw Faith's picture back into his briefcase, "at least we now know which of the two is the Slayer."

x

* * *

x

Stating he was no longer in the mood for food Belmovekk took off for the gravity gym after his meeting with the military. The alternative was that he would either finish off Riley's beer or make some of his own. Better to use the other time honored tradition of punishing your body through strenuous exercise.

Flying through the air he landed on top of his former home and found Piccolo and Faith there, waiting for him.

"I had a feeling you'd come here," the Namek grinned, floating a few feet over the roof, in his usual cross-legged stance, "had a nice chat with the army fellows?"

Belmovekk wanted to make a little tirade but decided not to at the last moment. Instead he pointed towards the Namek's ears.

"I take it you heard everything?" he asked.

"Do you even need to ask?" the Namek grinned, then the grin faded, "I told you no good would come of dealing with the military."

"I really thought I could keep things separate," the Saiyan said dejected, "It never used to be any problem."

"That's because you've lived on that backwater world of yours for thousands of years," Piccolo said shaking his head, "Here we had to go to great lengths to maintain our secret identity."

"I failed." the Saiyan said as he sat down on the ledge and buried his head in his hands, "I failed her. And I failed you, Faith. Again."

Faith looked at Belmovekk, then at Piccolo.

"I..., uh," she tried to say but Piccolo interjected.

"You'll be alright," the Namek said confidently, "They don't know that there are two Slayers. They still think there's only one. And now more then ever they think it's Buffy."

"Ah," Faith nodded, for once not envying her fellow Slayer.

"So what are you going to do?" Piccolo asked the Saiyan.

"Exactly what I said," Belmovekk said looking up, "They will have neither her, nor you, Faith, nor anyone for that matter over my dead body. I meant my words, I will raze this world to the ground before it comes to that."

Piccolo and Faith looked at each other not sure what to say. Then the Namek looked at the Saiyan again.

"Let's make sure it doesn't come to that, shall we," Piccolo said as he unfolded his legs and landed next to the Saiyan, patting him on the shoulder, "Things are never as black as they seem. We'll find a way."

The Saiyan looked up hopeful.

"So…., you will…., help out?" he asked.

Piccolo gave him a warm smile.

"Goku would have my head if I were to let you destroy this world," he said, then he turned to Faith, "Come, let's go."

Waving goodbye the Namek and the Dark Slayer took off.

As soon as they were in the air Piccolo looked at Faith.

"We may have a problem."

x

* * *

x

As soon as Belmo had flown away Buffy wanted to go after him. But Giles also wanted to come along and suggested they go by car instead. To give those without flight also a chance and to give the Saiyan time to cool down.

So they took a drive in Giles' beat up Citroen until they finally arrived at Belmo's old address. And still home to their gravity gym. When they pulled up in front of the building they found two people standing in front of the entrance.

"Greetings, Xander Harris," Teal'c said as he bowed respectfully when Xander exited the car, "It has been a long time since last we met."

"We met at the wedding, Teal'c," Xander smiled, "that was only days ago."

"True," Teal'c nodded, "but there was little time for conversation. Nor for a test of mettle."

Xander looked at Teal'c, then the building, then Teal'c again and grinned.

"So you seek to test your new skills then?" he asked. The Jaffa look at his partner, the guy that was the replacement for the one that had died, Giles junior.

"The thought did cross my mind," the Jaffa replied, "truth be told though I also came to talk with Satiya. Harsh words have been spoken and I came to besiege him to relent. For while he is my Satiya and I will always respect him as such, when I have to make a choice I must side with my friends of the SGC."

"I understand," Xander said respectfully, he could understand the desire to stand with one's friends, "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

Meanwhile the other guy, Jonas Quinn, approached Buffy.

"Hi," he said extending his hand, "I'm Jonas."

Buffy didn't take his hand, instead she just stared at the man. Finally getting the hint Jonas withdrew his hand.

"So you're the Slayer," he said, "A champion of humanity. From what I've read in the various ancient texts it's considered quite an honor."

"Honor, what honor?" Buffy bit back, "the honor to die at a very young age? To die alone, brutally, before you even got a chance at a first kiss? Most don't make it past the first year, Jonesy."

Jonas was somewhat taken aback by Buffy's outburst but recovered quickly.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said, " but if Selmak's timeline is correct you've been the Slayer for at least four years."

"I'm good at what I do," Buffy said and then she pointed to the building behind them, "the rest I owe to him. Now stand aside."

Walking right past him Buffy entered the gravity gym building.

"She's quite the character," Jonas remarked.

"You have no idea," Giles said proud.

x

* * *

x

Inside the gravity gym building Buffy didn't find Belmo inside the gym.

"Meow?" was the only reply as she peered inside the gym. So she went upstairs, to the living apartment that was now Xander's and his crazy lady. There she found Belmo staring at the pictures of Kendra, his dead wife and his dead sister. The little 'shrine' was the one part of the room that still looked like his. Mom had asked him to bring them over to their home but Belmo had insisted that that place should be the place of a new start, not house a shrine to the past. Still, he couldn't quite bring himself to taking them down here and Xander, God bless him, didn't mind keeping it intact.

"Are you on another guiltapalooza again?" she asked.

"I am just thinking," Belmo replied without looking at her.

"Lemme guess," Buffy said as she reached for a chair as she sat down backwards so she could rest her arms on the back of the chair, "You're trying to come up with ways so you can keep me safe from becoming part of your little wall of remembrance."

"I will not let Warleader Hammond come and take you away, young lady," Belmo said calmly.

"Yeah, I know," Buffy said as she looked aside, "Big scary Goold is looking for some big scary McGuffin. Other Goolds want me to pop over and stop him."

Belmo looked over his shoulder at her.

"Did Master Giles inform you of what happened?" he asked.

She thought of saying yes, but figured Giles would tell him the truth at some point anyway.

"Actually….," she said as she scratched her hair sheepishly, "Willow had a hand in it. She let us 'listen in' to the whole meeting. If you want to keep your conversations a secret you should really be more nice to her girlfriend, you know."

Belmo shot her a dirty look, then he shrugged.

"So you know. It changes nothing."

She gripped the back of her seat with two hands and leaned forward.

"But it does," she said, "I wanna come."

Belmo didn't reply immediately, instead he just looked at her like she was seven kinds of crazy. Then he looked to the side like he was hearing somebody else talking. And knowing a little what went on his mind she had a pretty good idea who he was hearing. Several times now she had caught him talking to someone who wasn't there when he thought no one was around.

"Absolutely not," he said resolutely, his head still turned aside.

"Oh yes I will," she said defiantly, "I don't know if you've noticed but I've graduated from high school. I'm old enough to vote. I'm an adult now."

"Your Earth legalities mean nothing to me," Belmo said deadpan, "I'm the head of your household and until you beat me in combat my word is law."

Go figure! Here comes the Saiyan macho bullshit again.

"Earth to planet Belmo, Earth to planet Belmo, hello? Newsflash! You're no longer on planet Vegeta. Planet macho bullshit was blown up long ago. You're on Earth now."

Belmo wanted to say something but looked aside again for a moment.

"You do not understand, young lady," he finally said, "when I asked your mother to marry me I promised her that I would do anything to keep you and your sisters safe. That literally means anything."

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"While I'm sure it's every girl's dream to have an overprotective father willing to destroy the whole planet for her I do know how to take care of myself."

"I do not care, young lady," Belmo said in a tone that bordered on pigheadedness, "I will not let them take you with them."

"I'm not talking about going with them," she said pointing towards the Air Force base, "I'm talking about coming with you. You can still keep an eye on me if need be."

Again it looked like Belmo was diverted by someone else talking. For a moment she was tempted to reach out and listen in on the conversation. But then again she'd rather not. Every time she had done the telepathic thing with him it had turned into a wigapalooza.

"Why do you want to go?" he finally asked her, "Are you so bored that you are looking for, as Xander says, a challenge?"

Truth be told, there was some truth in that. Things had gotten rather boring lately with nothing but training. And training. And training.

But the real truth of course were those crazy dreams she had having. Three nights in a row she'd dreamed of Belmo going along with Colonel Cassandra and his merry band and getting himself killed. Giles had failed to identify the demon of her dreams and now it looked like it was going to happen. She'd had to come along and safe him.

It was the only thing she could do. If it was just a dream nothing would happen. If it were true she'd be in the right place to stop the damn thing. Or at least buy Belmo enough time to go Super.

Thing was though, she couldn't tell him. She had discussed her dreams only with Giles and Riley and sworn them to secrecy. Which was even more paramount now, because if Belmo learned some evil monster would attack them at this temple he'd really go to planet Saiyan protector overlord. And for all she knew these events occurring in her dreams happened even though the Saiyan knew. Since she wasn't part of that group except in spirit she had to be there in person.

"They asked for the Slayer," she finally said, "it's a job for the Slayer. Look, you can't blow them off just to protect my identity. They know. It's out there. I'm amazed it lasted this long anyway. Time to move on and make the best of it."

"I will not…." Belmo said as he put on his buttface to protest but she decided not to give him the chance.

"Look, Belmo, you've got two options. Either you let me come with you. You can be the guy in charge if that makes you feel more manly and secure. Or…. I'll just run away and go with them without you. And don't think you can stop me with your scouter gizmo because I've learned some new tricks. Now, what's it going to be?"

It was a bluff of course. Not the running away undetected part. She had done it before. She even found a way to stuff enough of her chi into one of her stuffed toys to make him think she was still in her room.

Where the bluff fell apart was afterwards. All he had to do was go to Colonel Cassandra's base and wait for her there. He'd probably have to battle the entire US military to get to her. And alienate people like Riley who worshipped the ground he walked upon. But if he was on planet Saiyan protector overlord he'd do it.

She had learned that the hard way. It had been annoying and frustrating. And for a time she had hated him for it. But once she had finally understood how planet Saiyan protector overlord worked she realized that with great power comes great responsibility. It was only because she held human life dearly that Belmo had refrained from slaughtering the Watcher's Council on her 18th birthday. If she had deemed it necessary however and could get Giles to come with some books to prove it there was no limit to what she could make him do. It was a power that sometimes scared her shitless. No person should have that kind of power over another being.

So she hoped he was just on the edge of planet Saiyan protector overlord and not firmly on it.

"So, what will it be?" she asked. Again he looked slightly aside for a moment. Again with the side bar with his invisible sidekick. God! It was like he wasn't even trying to hide it around her any more.

"We will go together," Belmo said without much enthusiasm. Good, either he wasn't completely on planet Saiyan protector overlord or Casper the Goold had talked some sense into him.

Who knew Casper the Goold would be the sane one of the two.

"Good," she said and patted him on the shoulder, "now that that's settled, if you excuse me I've got to go downstairs and tell Xander's best buddy and Jonesy to book us some extra seats."

She stood up and made for the stairs. She had barely closed the door behind her when she heard Belmo speak.

"Oh, shut up, you worm."

x

* * *

x

Not that far away, on the roof of a neighboring building across the street Piccolo visibly relaxed.

"We are in luck," he said to Faith who had been sitting bored on the roof behind him, "things are not as bad as they seem. Your fellow Slayer is more wise then I gave her credit. That or she hung out too much times with Saiyans. It could go either way."

Faith was tempted to throw in a barb towards her fellow Slayer. But that would have been the old Faith. It was still too early for that. Then something else hit her.

"Lemme get this straight," Faith said, "You can hear a conversation all the way from up here. Does that mean that when I….."

Piccolo turned his head towards her and gave her a look of sheer exasperation.

"Every time."

x

* * *

x

"You know, this _still_ doesn't mean I like the bastard," O'Neill said.

SG-1 and their Tok'ra ally were standing outside 1630 Revello Drive in front of their cars, waiting for their charges to come out.

"At least we got what we wanted, Jack," the Tok'ra said and patted the colonel on the back, "so relax."

"Bastard made half of California shake," Jack muttered softly.

"I thought you hated California?" Sam asked, "that if it were to keel over into the sea during the next major earthquake you'd do the dance of joy?"

Jack shot her a dirty look.

"You're way too smart for your own good, major," he said.

"That's my girl," the Tok'ra said proudly.

Inside 1630 the scene was different. While Buffy was saying her goodbyes to her friends and family Belmovekk took Piccolo aside.

"Piccolo my friend, if I can make a request, I would feel more at ease if you and Faith were to remain in Sunnydale in our absence. To protect my wife and children and keep an eye on the others as well."

Piccolo raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" he asked surprised, "Now that you've weeded out the rot this place seems fairly decent. If you can stand the Hellmouth's stench that is."

Belmovekk looked around, like somebody might have overheard it.

"Do not say things like that here, Piccolo," he said, "This place has a bad habit of hitting you when you least expect it. Or defy it. With me and Buffy gone that leaves only Xander and Willow to guard the fort as it were."

"So?" the Namek shrugged, "Xander's a sturdy lad and the girl is rapidly on the way to becoming the world's strongest sorceress. And they have Rupert to keep an eye on them. And besides, Faith would rather leave this place yesterday then tomorrow."

"All the more reason for her stay and overcome her demons," the Saiyan said, then he began to grin, "why not put her in charge? Technically she is a Slayer."

"Considering that the line traveled from Buffy to Kendra to her she is _the_ Slayer," Piccolo corrected, causing Belmovekk to frown.

"Let's not get into semantics, shall we?" he said.

After she had said her goodbyes to her daughter Joyce came over to say her goodbye to her husband.

"Take good care of my daughter," she whispered in his ear as she hugged him, "Or don't bother to come back."

"Like she is my own," Belmovekk said without batting an eye.

Next to say goodbye was Giles.

"I wish I could come with you," Giles said as he shook the Saiyan's hand, "old temples, ancients text, I could have been of help there."

"I know, master Giles," Belmovekk said as he hugged the man in response, "You have been a good friend since I have come to know you, a great warrior fighting with knowledge. I trust your judgments and books implicitly. And you are right, you could be of some great assistance. But if it were up to me I would not even take Buffy with me. I need you here. They need you here."

"Now, I have asked Piccolo and Faith to remain here in my absence. I trust his judgment. And I think it will be good for Faith to remain here a little longer as well, to give her time to cope with her demons. So you will be well up in strength in case something happens."

"And in case something happens out there I have asked Warleader Hammond to send you a communications device so we can contact you wherever we are. And as always with your books you can be of the greatest assistance wherever you are."

After finally having said their goodbyes Belmovekk and Buffy made their way to Revello Drive the street, where SG-1 was waiting.

"Back so soon?" O'Neill said sarcastically as the two of them approached their vehicles. Upon which Buffy put down her bag in front of him.

"To the airport, driver," she said offhand and just stepped into the car. O'Neill looked at the bag, then at the members of his time who looked at him with thinly veiled amusement.

"That girl needs a spanking," he finally muttered and tried to lift the bag. And found it to be much heavier then he thought it be.

"What the hell is in this thing?" he called out as he had to greatly exert himself to barely lift the bag.

"Just clothes," the Saiyan shrugged.

"Just clothes?" O'Neill said incredulously, "you've gotta be joking. Are they made out of lead or something?"

"Training never stops," the Saiyan said as he put his bag in the trunk of the car, causing the car's suspension to groan by the weight. Then he got into the car next to Buffy.

Taking one more look at the girl's bag O'Neill let go and looked hopeful at Teal'c.

"Teal'c buddy?"


	7. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

" **Testify'**

x

x

AN: _Originally this was all part of chapter three but I decided to split it off as content wise its basically completely separate. Ideally the two chapters should be mixed, part for part, but unfortunately its content takes place after the events in chapter three._

x

* * *

x

 _Shackle their minds when they're bent on the cross  
When ignorance reigns, life is lost  
Shackle their minds when they're left on the cross  
When ignorance reigns, life is lost  
Shackled our minds when we're bent on the cross  
When ignorance reigns, life is lost  
Shackled our minds when we're left on the cross  
When ignorance reigns, life is lost, lost, lost!  
Shackle your minds and you're left on the cross!  
When ignorance reigns, life is lost!  
Just shackle your minds when you're bent on the cross!  
When ignorance reigns, life is lost, lost!_

 **Township Rebellion**

Rage Against the Machine, album: Rage Against the Machine

Lyrics by Zach de la Rocha

x

* * *

x

A-day minus 251

x

On and on the two Slayers had fought until the giggle returned. While not loud it was enough for both Slayers to stop and take notice.

"Did you hear that?" B. said as she wearily eyed Faith while trying to ascertain what else was out there.

"Yeah, I heard it," Faith panted.

Then the giggling noise was heard again, and this time, because both Slayers had stopped fighting, it sounded even creepier.

"Truce?" Faith suggested. B. gave her another weary eye.

"It still doesn't mean I trust you," B. almost spat at Faith, but the gist was clear. In Sunnydale the creepy had to take precedence over personal vendettas.

Another bout of giggling followed and Faith turned around.

"It came from here," she said, then turned her head towards B. again.

Only this time B. didn't reply as her fellow Slayer was gone. Vanished into thin air. Even the scene had changed as she was no longer amongst the rubble of Sunnydale High but in some underground tunnel system. She stood in a puddle of water as over her head a light bulb flickered. The straight tunnel was man made as electricity cables hung from the concrete ceiling going on in what seemed like forever.

"B.?" Faith called but there came no reply. Except for some more of that infernal giggling. Which by now was really getting to get on Faith's nerves.

"Show yourself," Faith yelled angrily but no one or nothing showed itself. Instead the giggle gained a mocking undertone.

"You're so going to get it now," Faith muttered as she began to run towards where she thought the giggle was coming from.

It took like seemingly forever to traverse the tunnel until she came to a set of doors. The doors itself were ripped out, like a Saiyan had come through and pushed it aside like it was a mere shower curtain. Through the doors she entered a large space, also completely manmade, the inside looked like said Saiyan had used it for his personal stomping ground. Debris and bodies were everywhere, all bathed in red emergency lighting.

"Damn!" Faith exclaimed as she saw the carnage. Another bout of giggling drew her attention back to the matter at hand.

"I'm gonna get you," Faith yelled and made her way through the hall to get to where she thought the annoying laughter was coming from. She stepped through another doorway, the door again brutally shoved aside like it was a mere curtain. More giggling convinced her that she was on the right track. As she passed through this new corridor she went passed door after door all ripped open and with more carnage behind each one of them.

After what seemed like forever passing through a maze of halls and corridors Faith finally had the idea that she was gaining on the mystery joker. The fact that when she came to the end of the corridor there was still a massive intact door also was a dead give away. She paused momentarily to examine the door. It seemed like a security door that seemed to be standard in this place, no window to see through, nor a means to open it. Just a barely visible outline of a number on the door itself.

Faith placed her ear on the door and tried to listen. As she did she could hear the giggling coming from the other side.

"Oh, you're going down, mister," she said as she stepped back. Then she kicked against the door with so much force it buckled, came free from its hinges and crashed into the other side of the room.

"You and me, right now," Faith said angry as she stepped into yet another large hall. The place looked like a hospital, with all sorts of medical carts and implements. But although this time there was no visible exit present there didn't seemed to be anyone present. No mystery giggler.

"You've got to be shitting me," Faith said both surprised and annoyed, "what kind of sick twisted joke is this?"

"It's a fair question," a voice said to her left. Faith nearly jumped into the air. As she turned to her left she saw Giles standing there.

"G.?" Faith almost whispered.

"Have you any idea how much your betrayal cost us?" the Watcher said impassionately, "how many people died because you betrayed us?"

"I, uh, I, um, didn't mean to," Faith stammered but Giles seemed unforgiving.

"Tell that to your victims," he said.

"176 people were killed during the Battle for Sunnydale," Willow said as she stepped out of nowhere and joined Giles' side, "did you mean for that not to happen as well?"

"No, I, uh," Faith babbled as she took an involuntary step backwards. As she did it was Xander who stepped into view.

"176 people, Faith, that's an awful lot I didn't mean to. What does it take for you to take responsibility for what you did?" Xander said as he joined the other two.

And it was an awful lot of I didn't mean too, Faith thought. Jolly Green had never told her how many people had died, just that some had been revived with the Dragonballs. But not everybody could be revived. The Dragonballs were potent. But they couldn't revive a person if there wasn't anything left to revive. And while through sheer luck the battle had mostly been contained to the Sunnydale High campus, there had been 'collateral damage'.

And that was totally ignoring the fact that her former boss had planned to feed on everybody inside Sunnydale after ascending. And that she had helped him plan for that.

"You should never have returned, Faith," the voice of Buffy said as she joined her clique, "I think it would have been best for everybody if you stayed away."

"I, I'm sorry," Faith said downcast.

"Sorry don't bring them back, Faith," Buffy replied coldly.

"Maybe you should have killed yourself," Willow shrugged, "do us as all a favor."

Faith looked down and bit her lip.

"I'm sorry," she said again, "I wish I could do it all over again."

"Can't undo what you did," Xander said shaking his head, "you can never do that."

"Still….," Giles said as he took off his glasses and began to polish them, "'spose there's one thing you could do."

"What?" Faith said hopeful, "I'll do it!"

Buffy put up her arm and pointed behind Faith.

"Take care of Him."

Faith turned around to the other side of the room, where all the medical carts where, all centred around a large table. On the table lay something, covered underneath a white cloth. Like a corpse on a medical examiner's table. Then the corpse or whatever it was sat up straight and began to pull the white cloth off itself. And whatever it was she had a feeling she wasn't going to like what was underneath the cover.

Then she heard something, as it spoke inside her mind.

" _Do not listen to them, Faith,"_ a deep calm voice said, _"for they lie."_

" _Who are you?"_ Faith asked.

" _You will come to know me as…."_ The voice spoke, only to suddenly get broken off as a long snakelike appendage wrapped itself around her neck and squeezed the life out of her.

"Hello Faith," was the last thing she heard.

Then she gasped for air and woke up.

Crap! Not another one?

x

* * *

x

"NOOOOOOO!"

Elsewhere, halfway across the continent, Buffy Summers also woke up from an equally unpleasant dream.

As she sat up straight in her bed, somewhere in the bowels of the massive underground installation of the SGC she contemplated her dream. Despite having strong-armed Belmo into taking her along it still didn't change the outcome of her dream. Belmo was still going to die.

The door to her room opened and Jonesy peeked inside.

"Are you alright?" he asked concerned, "I thought I heard screaming."

"I'm alright," Buffy said, "it was just a bad dream."

"Ah," Jonesy nodded, then he gave her a serious look, "was it a prophetic dream? I've read that many stories regarding the Slayer mention that she has the gift of prophetic dreams. Forewarning her of dangers to come."

Buffy gave him a stern look. This guy wasn't as dumb as he looked, probably why he had replaced Giles Junior. She had to be careful with him.

"And sometimes a cigar is just a cigar," Buffy said as she ruffled her hair. Her remark caused Jonesy to give her a puzzled look.

"It's an expression," she explained, "it means that sometimes something has no deeper meaning?"

Jonesy thought about it for a moment.

"Ah," Jonesy said, then he smiled again, "since you're awake, shall I get you some breakfast? We leave in over an hour."

To illustrate his point the alarm clock beside her bed began to beep. Almost without thinking she reached out and squashed the alarm clock.

"Are you alright?" Jonesy asked concerned. He had a similar clock in his room and he had found them to be quite smash proof. In no small doubt helped by the fact that they were meant to wake up grumpy soldiers.

"I'm fine," Buffy said as she cursed herself for her clumsiness, "I think I could use some breakfast. With lots of coffee. Strong coffee."

x

* * *

x

Carrying two large bags of groceries Xander returned home to his place. It had taken him a lot of time to finally see it as his place, in no small doubt because legally it still belonged to Belmovekk. And because he had so few belongings to make it his place.

When he had returned to Sunnydale Xander had found that his parents had thrown away all of his stuff that he had left back home. It was to be expected though so it wasn't like he could get himself worked up over it. And what you leave behind you don't miss anyway. The only things that he really missed were his taped Babylon 5 collection, his Richard Hatch autographed Battlestar Galactica box set and his tapes of the original Star Wars movies. For he didn't care much about Lucas' digital rehash.

All his other stuff had been in the duffel bag he had carried around with him across the country. And of those all he cared about were his pictures. And Mr. Gordo. When Angela had inadvertently flung the both of them into Shimrod's private world it meant his bag had been in her apartment for all the time Xander had been in Tanjecterly.

After the Battle of Sunnydale Xander had believed that her apartment had been foreclosed and its goods (and his) scattered to the four corners of the Earth. Until Angel, who had moved to LA, sent word that her address was still valid. Apparently Angela, Kami be blessed, had worked her ass off before going to Tanjecterly and had enough money on the bank to still pay off the rent.

So he and Buffy had gone to LA and cleaned out her apartment. To her squealing delight Buffy was re-united with her favorite stuffed toy and Xander was more then happy to give Mr. Gordo back to her. For he had his pictures back. And _her_ goodbye note. Which he found he could now finally read without getting tear leakage.

And then he got Angela back.

Sort off.

Say one thing though, the day he brought her to stay at his place was the first time he actually began to think of it as his place.

Managing to juggle two large bags of groceries and a set of keys Xander opened the door and stepped inside the gravity gym building.

"Meow?"

"Hi, Max," Xander said as he now had to juggle two large bags of groceries, a set of keys, a door that needed to be closed and a hungry cat nuzzling up against his legs. Say one thing about Max the cat though, she was the first person to consider him the new man of the house. Although him now regularly bringing in the cat food probably helped in no small part.

"Meow?"

"Relax, Max," Xander said as he barely was able to close the door, "You're not going to get it any faster by making me trip over."

Normally talking to a cat made little sense as they never listened to what you were saying, everything to them being an open invitation for them to get more food, more attention, more furniture to ruin. Of course Max wasn't an ordinary cat. Cause normal cats don't happily endure 75+ G's perched on top of a chi-deflector slash training dummy.

So she stopped pestering Xander and walked to the stairs. There she turned around and waited for Xander to catch up with her.

"Meow?"

"Love you too, Max," Xander muttered. Cats! Why couldn't the Big Guy have kept a gold fish?

As he walked the stairs, the cat always staying a few steps ahead of him, Xander went through his mental 'to do' list. Get groceries, check. Go home, check. Feed cat, in progress. Check on Angela, still to do. Clean up the gym before Faith and Piccolo arrive, still to do. See how far she's gotten and probably get the living shit beaten out of him, still….

"… and then, love, the bugger came right at me. But I was prepared and all the Mexicans…."

BAM!

The sound of two grocery bags hitting the floor.

"YOU!"

The sound of one Xander Harris coming home to find the girl he was caring for sitting on the couch with the one person he never hoped to see again, aside from Angelus of course.

The vampire Spike.

The vampire, without his trademark black leather trench coat, was talking to her and she seemed somewhat bored. Which meant that knowing her she was really interested.

"Hi, Droopy," Spike said cheerful as he saw Xander standing there, "Hope you don't mind me and your bird having a chat. She's a nice bird but (whistling noise as he twirled his fingers to the side of his head), she makes Dru look sane."

"YOU!" Xander said as the shock of seeing Spike in his living room faded away and gave rise to righteous anger.

"Look, you aren't still mad about the last time are you?" Spike said as he got off from the couch, "cause that was a mistake. And Red didn't get harmed or nothing."

"I. Will. Kill. YOU!" Xander yelled angrily and threw himself at the vampire. Gripping the vampire by wrapping his arms around his waist, Xander used his momentum to launch the both of them through the window.

"Kiss the sun, you bleached fucker!" Xander yelled as they hit the sunlit morning sky.

Inside the house Angela seemed unperturbed by what had happened and reached for the TV remote, switching the TV on, flipping through the channels until she came upon a war movie. Then she put the remote down and watched in a bored manner.

The only one who wasn't bored was Max the cat, who looked rather forlorn.

"Meow?"

Where the cat f*** was her dinner?

Then she spotted a growing puddle of white liquid coming from the grocery bags lying on the floor. It may not be dinner, but it would have to do.

x

* * *

x

"Kiss the sun, you bleached fucker!" Xander yelled as he and Spike hit the sunlit morning sky. Kami be praised! Flying high into the sky until he was sure there were no clouds the Bleached One was finally going to get it. And it was he who ended the fucker. Buffy was going to be so proud!

But then again, shouldn't something have happened by now? Where was the bursting into flames part?

"Oh, Droopy?" Spike said in a very bored tone. Xander who had his face buried in the vampire's chest looked up. Far from being immolated Spike seemed quite alright.

"Not going to happen," Spike said shaking his head. Then he shoved his arms between Xander's and forced himself free.

Xander let himself fall a few yards before coming to a stop, then he examined the vampire. Spike was indeed not burning up like a human firelighter. Instead he hung there confidently. .

Then Xander noticed that heated air was rising around Spike. Like some invisible fire was happening around him, but just not on him. Then it hit him.

"You're burning off chi to avoid the sunburn?" Xander said incredulously. It was actually quite clever.

"You could call it like that," Spike said, then he folded his arms across his chest, "Now listen up, Droopy, I didn't come…."

Before he could finish his sentence Xander attacked him with punch to his face that sent the bleached vampire flying again.

"Bugger!" Spike muttered as he fell towards the earth while rubbing his chin, "I was afraid this was gonna happen."

"Since you won't burn I'll just have to kill you the old fashioned way," Xander yelled and closed in. Then the fight began in earnest.

x

* * *

x

"Seventh chevron encoding," the speaker called over the intercom and the giant sliding thingy made another click. As she watched the giant sliding thingy gyrate and rotate all over the place Buffy was glad she wasn't the poor sap who had to lubricate the damn thing.

Then something really impressive happened as a large light blue geyser of energy exploded into the room and then just as quickly withdrew until all that was left was a watery curtain on the giant sliding thingy.

Putting on his sun glasses Colonel Cassandra started to walk up the ramp towards the giant sliding thingy.

"Let's go, people," he said and walked into the watery curtain.

"Ew," Buffy said disgusted as she saw one person after another vanish into the stuff.

"It is not too late to change your mind, young lady," Belmo's voice called out behind her. She turned around and looked at the Saiyan, all dressed in his new army uniform. Just like she was now. Stupid army and their uniforms! And these boots. Grunge was so yesteryear!

"No, I have to do this," she said and faced the big giant sliding thingy again. Slowly she walked up the ramp, until she stood a foot away from the watery curtain. There she halted. Why did this stuff freak her out so much? This shouldn't be scary, right? She faced vampires, demons, Saiyans big and small, her crazed former lover, seven kinds of hell and survived the Battle of Sunnydale. Some swirling watery curtain shouldn't frighten her, right?

"Preferably today, Miss Summers," the voice of that fat general called through the intercom, "Uncle Sam's paying the energy bills, remember?"

"Me and my stupid dreams," Buffy muttered softly under her breath, then she pushed her hand into the watery curtain.

"Ew!"

x

* * *

x

BOOM!

A sonic boom made the windows of his store vibrate. Soon followed by the sound of something crashing into something hard and concrete not very far. Immediately the store owner raced to his own window and looked up with keen interest. The sky seemed clear, not a cloud in sight and….

Suddenly a black dot streaked by, almost too fast for the eye to see. Soon followed by another. And then came another sonic boom.

BOOM!

Wasting no time the store owner called out his assistant. After all, he was a Sunnydale store owner.

"Jenkins! Fetch the boards and protect the windows! They're at it again!"

x

* * *

x

What the hell was going on here?

It was Spike he was dealing with. Unless he managed to find the mother of all power ups Spike should have been peanuts to deal with. Last time the Big Guy measured him he clocked over 130.000. Why was it so hard for him to finish off Spike?

"For the last time, Droopy, I'm not here to fight y…," Spike tried to say until he ate some of Xander's fist. That at least shut the vampire up. Because there was one thing Xander hated more then his looks, it was the Bleached One's voice.

As he fought the Bleached One, the Bleached One still kept up with him with every increase in strength and speed. So the Bleached One learned a few tricks. Including how to give himself factor 100 sunblock. There were more ways to skin a cat and nothing would stand between Xander and his righteous revenge.

Disengaging himself from the fight Xander let himself fall backwards and cupped his hands beside him. It was not his favorite technique but speed wise it was preferable to Piccolo's. And he didn't even dare thinking of using his own special technique. So far it was more short bus special then awesome special.

"Ka!" he yelled as he began to gather energy.

"For the last time, I'm not here to fight," Spike yelled back, "I need your help."

"I'll gladly help," Xander yelled back, "by killing your undead ass! Me!"

"For fuck's sake, have you gone completely batshit insane," Spike yelled aghast, "Where's Buffy?"

"Buffy would be cheering me on all the way," Xander replied, "Ha!"

"You're crazy," Spike yelled as he saw the pale blue energy began to form and swirl in Xander's hands.

"On the contrary, I've never been more clear in my entire life," Xander grinned, "Me!"

"That's the very definition of crazy," Spike yelled back as Xander's energy began to crackle with noise.

"I'll give you crazy," Xander said as he felt his attack had reached his maximum, "run piggy, run. For death is on yo…."

Suddenly something large, green and white blurred into vision and came to a sudden stop between Xander and Spike.

"Do you knuckleheads have any idea what you're doing?" Piccolo's voice boomed, "The whole town is panicking, the Air Force base is in high alert and I'm sure there will be seven kinds of hell to pay when this is over."

"All the more reason to let me end this," Xander said, straining to keep his attack under control.

"Think again," the Namek boomed, then folded his arms across his chest, "What the hell are you doing? I thought you were the smart one?"

"I must kill him," Xander said nodding towards Spike, "He's the Bleached One. He tasks me. He tasks me and I shall have him!"

"Are you quoting Wrath of Kahn now?" Spike huffed, feeling a little more secure now that there was somebody between him and the crazy teen, "You know how it ended for old Kahn, don't ya, Droopy?"

"Shut up, you overbite," Xander yelled angry but Spike seemed unimpressed. He even pulled forth a cigarette and lit it.

"Oh yeah?" he said defiantly after inhaling deeply, "Bite me!"

"Oh, I will," Xander said and charged his attack again.

"Stop it!" Piccolo said annoyed to Xander, then he turned to Spike, "You're a vampire?"

"Well, technically we're now probably called Undead Americans," Spike mused.

Piccolo looked at Spike, then at Xander, then at Spike again.

"Why aren't you burning up?"

"I got me this cool trick," Spike said and used his right hand to gesture around his energy shield that kept the sun at bay by slowly burning itself.

"A vampire with chi that can keep the sun at bay," Piccolo said as he understood what was happening, "Wrong answer!"

Then Piccolo began to grin as he raised his left hand at the vampire and began to charge a massive attack himself. As soon as that happened Spike let his cigarette drop in shock.

"Wait!" Spike said desperately as he held up both of his arms, "For the last time, I'm not here to fight you. I'm here because I need your help."

"You were in my home!" Xander yelled angrily, "I saw you with Angela."

"How was I supposed to know it's your home?" Spike countered and pointed to the location of the gym below, "Last time I was here you lived in a basement and that used to be the Big Scary's place. I was hoping to find him. Or barring that the Slayer. She did practice there, you know."

Looking from Xander to Spike Piccolo decided to hold of his attack and press for more information.

"Neither is here," he said calmly, "but they left me in charge. Whatever you were going to say, you have to say it to me."

"You're not going to listen to him, are you?" Xander said surprised, "He lies! He's always lying, he's a vamp, for Kami's sake."

Piccolo looked at Xander for a moment, then he stopped energizing his own attack.

"Funny you should mention the old coot," the Namek grinned, "me and him go back a long way and he ain't exactly on my favorite person list. So for that I think I'll let him speak."

"Great," Xander muttered as the pale blue energy in his hands disappeared and was re-absorbed into his body, "Bastard does it again."

Seeing that Xander had lost the argument Spike held up his right index and middle finger and gave Xander the two fingered English salute.

"Time to start speaking and convince me or I'll let Captain Hothead here finish the job," Piccolo said as he turned towards Spike again.

"Can we get indoors or something," Spike said as he looked up towards the sun and put his arm in front of his face, "I may not burn up but it kinda hurts being this out in the open."

"Not until I get the gist," Piccolo said and pointed over his shoulder towards Xander, "or he gets to finish the job."

"You want the gist, your Greenness?" Spike said as he reached for another cigarette and lit it, "Fine, here's the gist. I was minding my own business a few months ago when suddenly a bunch of army goons comes by and takes me prisoner. They experiment on me, anal probe me, turn me in the six million dollar vamp you see now. And then I managed to escape in time before they wipe my mind, turning me into a nice obedient toy soldier."

"Still doesn't tell me why you came here for help or why you were fighting Xander," Piccolo asked.

"I didn't fight Droopy at all, I just defended myself against Captain Irrational here because he keeps attacking me," Spike protested as he pointed both hands towards Xander, "as for coming here, well, I don't know much of what they were after but I do know this. They wanted me to kill you guys. And I'm not talking about you, your greenness, but Droopy here and his friends. Yeah, don't give me that look, I said it. Somebody wants you, the Big Scary, Buffy and your other friends dead. Now will you help me?"

x

* * *

x

"Cleveland?"

"That's what he said," Piccolo shrugged.

"That's what I said," Spike said.

"Cleveland," Giles said again as he mulled it over.

The group had gathered at his place, minus Buffy's mother and her kids. After Piccolo had diffused the situation in the skies over Sunnydale he had to go and diffuse the situation on the ground. Namely the Air Force base. Where Riley had been ready to go Defcon 1 and sent out every chi trained man into the field. It was only because Piccolo had sent Faith to restrain Riley that the SGC's finest hadn't taken to the skies already.

But in exchange for smoothing feathers with his superiors Riley and his deputy, the stalwart Sergeant-Major Burns, had demanded to be included in the subsequent meetings.

"I don't get it," Burns said looking from side to side, "what's so special about Cleveland? Other then it being Rustbelt Central?"

Giles sighed, took off his glasses and pulled forth his polishing cloth.

"That's bad, is it not?" Burns asked Xander who sat next to him.

"End of the world bad," Xander said bored.

"Then how come you're not….?" the sergeant-major asked surprised.

"I'm used to it now," Xander shrugged, "Don't worry, we'll pull through. We'll always do."

"Why do I not feel comforted?" Burns muttered.

"You must understand," Giles began to explain as he pulled forth an old atlas and brought up a map of the world, "there are many dimensional gateways between the various universes. The ones we know as demonic, we call Hellmouths. As you know by now there is one right in this town. As far as we know it's the main one, the most active.

But there are others, spread across the world. Most lie dormant, others have varying degrees of activity. And in thi…."

"Just say there's another Hellmouth in Cleveland," Piccolo said.

"And ruin a perfectly good story?" Giles said sending the Namek a moderately dirty look.

"So let me get this straight," Burns said as he thumped the map on the location of Cleveland, "There are more Hellmouths? And there's one in Cleveland? And bad shit is happening there as well?"

"Kinda makes sense," Riley said musing as he looked at the map, "Now that the Sunnydale Hellmouth is under tight control the other ones probably become more attractive alternatives."

"We should go there," Willow said eagerly, "I've never been there before."

"Wait a sec, Will," Xander protested, "we can't all go. Someone has to hold the fort. I should go."

"Ahum," Faith coughed, "in your dreams. I'm the one who should go."

"Uh uh," Willow protested, "Xander and I should go, cause we're, um, the next best thing after Buffy."

"Cleveland's my part of the world," Faith said as she pointed to the Northeast on the map, "You've never been there. I should go."

"Puhlease," Xander snorted, "It so happens to be that I spent quite some time in Cleveland. It's where I met Angela. I'm connected there. I should go."

"With me," Willow quickly added.

"You guys are crazy," Spike said shaking his head in disbelief, "I'm not going back there. I barely made it out there the last time. I just came for a place to hide."

"Why would we hide you?" Piccolo asked, "You're a vampire. You feed on other people."

"I like this new management style," Xander smiled towards Willow, "It's more direct."

"Yeah, but….," Spike tried to say, then it hit him what Piccolo had said, "wait a minute, whatever happened to live and let live as long as I play nice?"

"You're Spike, you have a reputation for not playing nice." Xander said, then his face turned ugly, "you broke into my home, remember? You threatened Angela."

"Puhlease," Spike snorted, "that crazy broad not only invited me in, she could whoop your ass and mine combined."

"I, um, must say, Spike, you're not helping your case here," Giles said.

Spike rolled his eyes, then he shook his head.

"You wanna see why I would play nice?" he said. Then he attacked Giles.

Before anyone could react Spike feel to the ground and clutched his face.

"BUGGER!" he yelled in pain, "Bloody hell it hurts!"

Piccolo knelt next to the vampire and examined him.

"He seems alright," he said, "he doesn't have any injuries."

"Then why is he in pain?" Faith asked.

"I tell you why," Spike said holding his head, "bastards put something directly into my brain. Any time I try to hurt somebody it gives me searing pain."

"I see," Piccolo nodded, "that means…."

"Whenever I try to feed off someone it makes getting kicked in the 'nads a bloody picnic," Spike finished off the sentence, "Bloody hell, it still hurts. Now you see why I have to play suck up and be nice to you wankers?"

Xander leaned over to examine Spike.

"I don't buy it," he said suspiciously, "If you get a splitting headache when you attack somebody, why were you able to fight with me?"

"I didn't," Spike bit back, "I only defended myself, I didn't throw a single punch your way because there's no way in hell I'm going to incapacitate myself while you can still tear my head off."

Xander wanted to say something, then he changed his mind and looked at Piccolo.

"He's right, he didn't throw a single attack my way," he said in a tone that suggested it pained him to even admit it.

"I'm next to useless now," Spike said sullen, "Who knows what other crap they did to me. All I know is, I try and attack someone I get the S & M treatment."

"Maybe we should find out," Giles said and turned to Piccolo, "Maybe we should ask Bulma to come and give him an examination?"

"Good idea," the Namek nodded.

"I still don't understand why you came here?" Xander mused, "Certainly you knew you're not on our favorite persons list. Or favorite undead persons list."

Spike began to look from person to person.

"That's..., um, rather..., um," Spike stuttered, then he gestured around him, "you're like the strongest people I know. If you can't help me, who can?"

"So you're desperate," Piccolo said`, "that would explain it."

"Not with Spike," Xander said shaking his head, "He always has something else on his sleeve."

"I agree," Giles echoed, "There is something else here, something I'm unable to put my finger on. And I think it might have something to do with the way he escaped. It rings a little too easy for comfort."

"I told you," Spike said rolling his eyes, "They fucked up on the happy pills and I awoke early. Then I escaped. What more is there to say?"

"It's too convenient," Giles said, "You were one of a few vampires to have received chi training. And yet these shady operatives were able to capture you? That makes them either very good or you very stupid."

"Could be either way," Xander said, "It's Spike after all."

"And yet they make such a stupid mistake just before they wipe your mind?" Giles continued, "Something's not right."

"Do you think it's a trap?" Piccolo asked.

"I say let's kill him to be sure," Xander eagerly volunteered, "it's the only way."

"Don't you dare, Droopy," Spike said pointing towards Xander.

"Then tell us how you escaped," Piccolo said, "and no skimping on the details this time."

Spike looked from face to face with a look of desperation.

"I can't," he said.

Giles took a step forward and examined the vampire's face more closely.

"Can't tell because you do not know precisely or because there is something that prevents you from telling us the real truth," he asked.

Spike tried to speak, then he looked away.

"Can't because I would look like a tosser," he said hesitantly.

"We already think you're a tosser," Xander sniggered, "and trust me, there's little that can make you look even worse. You're already at rock bottom as far as I'm concerned."

"Fine," Spike said as he looked away and scratched his bleached hair, "it was the voice that did it and told me to come here. Said you lot spoke to him too."

He almost whispered the whole sentence.

"Voices?" Burns said as he looked at Riley, "a voice helped him escape?"

"I know how it sounds," Spike said angry, then he put on a sarcastic tone of voice, "Oh, here I am, the voice sent me here for help and helped me escape. Waking me on the damn trolley. Bugger! If you told me that I wouldn't believe you either."

"Was it a voice that speaks dryly in your mind?" Giles asked tentatively.

Spike thought it over and then nodded yes.

"I think so," he said, "claimed that he was the guy who had sent the Big Scary this way."

"We may have a bigger problem then we thought," Giles said as he walked to his study desk and began to rummage for something.

"You're not believing this nonsense, are you?" Riley said incredulously, "voices that speak in his mind?"

"They have spoken to me," Willow said looking around, "a year ago when the others were fighting the Hellmouth. They were the ones that alerted us that those three androids were spying on us."

"They also arranged for that accursed Halloween costume party," Xander said dejected.

"Belmovekk was sent here for a reason by his master, the God Aldur," Giles said as he continued to rummage through the papers on top of his desk.

"You mean the one who was inside you?" Burns said pointing towards Willow.

"That was a really weird experience," Willow nodded, "At the one hand it was really weird as I wasn't in control of my body, at the other hand it was like being surrounded by infinite kindness."

"You were anything but kind to that demon, miss," Burns said, "That was the biggest case of kickass curbstomp I've ever seen."

"People," Spike said incredulously, "You mean this actually makes sense to you lot?"

"At the beginning of time the universe had a purpose," Giles said as he stopped rummaging and turned to the group again, "Then a cosmic accident happened when it shouldn't and that purpose was split. Ever since then there have been two dueling Necessities who have fought a war through proxy as to which destiny should take precedence."

"You mean all this bad crap that happens here is the result of that split?" Burns asked but Giles shook his head.

"No, all this 'bad crap' as you call it is the result because for untold billions of years the universe is basically on hold."

"Gridlock," Riley nodded, "Like Congress."

"Sort of," Giles said as he put a small stack of papers on the table, "And like with any form of gridlock in the world, there comes the point that eventually the continuation of that gridlock becomes favorable to some. There are powers out there that transcend man, demons, the many aliens out there. And they seek to have their destiny become the one that prevails. They want to put the two Necessities on infinite hold and supplant their version of a future by creating their own new cosmic accident."

"Doesn't sound so bad," Burns said.

"Even if the Earth is the place designated for that cosmic accident?" Giles countered, "Hic locus est. This is the place. The Earth is a nexus of various interconnected dimensions. Blowing it up would create a serious cosmic accident."

"So if somebody's playing a cosmic game of chess, why do they talk to me?" Spike asked, "And, no offense because this helps my case, it still sounds like the biggest load of rubbish I've ever heard."

"I don't know why they spoke to you or what your role is," Giles said as he put his hand on the stack of paper on the table, "But I intend to find out. I suggest we all find out what goes on in Cleveland because it seems important enough for them to take a personal interest in Spike."

"If they did this to Spike, who knows what else they've done?" Willow said as she fired up her laptop, "we should find out."

"Especially since they want to kill us," Xander agreed, "better make some flight reservations for us, Will."

"You're still not seriously thinking of going back there, are ya?" Spike said horrified.

"Oh, I will," Xander said and thumped the vampire, "and you're coming with me."

"No I'm not," Spike said vehemently.

"Who says you're going?" Faith countered and pointed to Spike, "You couldn't even beat him in a fair fight. What good are you going to do in Cleveland when there could be more of him?"

"I didn't even got started," Xander huffed, "I would have beaten him if Pickles here hadn't stopped me."

"Like you could," Spike snorted.

"Wanna step out and find out?" Xander asked.

"He can't beat Robospike," Faith said to Piccolo, "so obviously we should go."

"No," Willow said looking up from her computer, "Because… this…Spike came to us, not you. This is our job."

"Well, to be fair, love, I came for the Big Scary or Buffy," Spike said, "but just when you need them they're in bloody outer space. And with all due respect, when you're looking for the Fonz you don't settle for Ralph Malph and Potsie. If I have to go with someone, then I want him now."

Spike pointed towards Piccolo.

"Me?" Piccolo said surprised.

"Why not?" Spike said, "Like I said, why settle for Ralph Malph when you can have the Fonz. You're the strongest here anyway. It's obvious."

"Because he's so large in stature?" Xander said disparagingly.

"No, can't you see," Spike said as he began to gesture with his arms as he tried to convey something that was so obvious yet so damn hard to explain, "He's like…., the power …., it's like….. Oh bugger this!"

Spike turned away in disgust, then he faced the group again and pointed first to Giles, then Willow, then Xander, then Faith and finally Piccolo.

"You're nothing, she's tiny, you are big, she's bigger and he's huge."

"You mean you can sense energy?" Giles said, having a sudden sinking feeling.

"There's no sensing," Spike replied as he gave Giles a puzzled look, "I just know.

"I think it's even worse," Piccolo said, "We now need Bulma more then ever. Whoever did a job on him must have come up with its own version of a scouter."

x

* * *

x

A day minus 250

x

"AUW!"

"You're such a baby."

"Well, you try getting prodded for months on end and see if you like it."

"Are you getting anywhere?" Piccolo asked after Bulma had arrived with her tools and begun her examination of Spike in Giles' living room.

"I would if he stops being so squeamish," Bulma said annoyed.

"Uh, Bulma," I think I've found something," Willow said as she looked over her shoulder towards the scientist. She had been assisting Bulma by examining the scans Bulma had made on Bulma's computer.

"What?" Bulma asked without looking away from what she was doing.

"I think it looks like some sort of port connector," Willow said. That caught Bulma's interest and she joined Willow's side.

"Here," Willow said and pointed to a small node on the left side of Spike's head on the computer screen.

"You could be on to something, girl," Bulma said impressed, then she smiled at Willow, "Most people would have missed that. But you're not most people, are you?"

Unsure how to cope with the sudden praise Willow smiled uncomfortably.

Now that Bulma knew where to look she picked a small torch like device from her pocket and used it shine a small blue light on the left side of Spike's head. As she neared a spot just right behind his left ear a small rectangular something became visible.

"Found ya," she said victoriously, then she moved her head so she could look Spike in the eyes, "Is it true that vampires can heal quickly again?"

"Yeah," Spike sighed bored, damn, this examination was taking forever. He could really use a fag right now.

Having gotten what she needed to hear Bulma turned to Piccolo.

"Could you hold him, Piccolo?" she asked as she rummaged in her pocket again.

"With pleasure," the Namek grinned.

"Hey, wait a sec," Spike protested, then two strong green arms took him in an iron grip.

"This won't hurt," Bulma smiled as she pulled out a small knife, "much."

Then she proceeded to make a small incision right behind his left ear.

"Bloody hell, you crazy bi…aaahhhh," Spike protested but was cut off as Piccolo applied some extra painful pressure.

"You don't address the lady that way," he said calmly as Spike twisted in vain in his arms.

"You've become such a gentleman, Piccolo," Bulma smiled as she cut some more into Spike, "clearly hanging out here instead of with Goku is rubbing off favorably on you."

"Suck up!" Spike muttered helplessly.

"There, all finished, Bulma said as she put down her knife. She had laid bare a part of Spike's skull behind his left ear and had revealed a small rectangular hatch. She touched it and it popped open.

Now that the cutting was done Piccolo let go of Spike and the vampire reached behind his ear to cautiously touch the small open hatch.

"What the hell is this?" Spike said with growing fear and disgust at yet another bodily invasion of his body.

"That's an USB port," Willow said.

"A what?" Spike asked.

Willow ran over to her own laptop and brought it for the vampire to see, pointing to some small rectangular slots on the back.

"See," she said, "they're called USB ports. Universal Serial Bus, a standard by which you can hook up computery stuff to your computer. Like printers or scanners, or…"

"Or Robospikes," Xander smirked, earning him a deathglare from Spike.

"I'm not some computery thing, Droopy," Spike said annoyed.

"Sure you are," Xander smirked back, "but that's a good thing. Think of all the porn you can now download directly into your brain."

Spike wanted to say something nasty, then he stopped.

"That's actually not a bad idea," he said.

"We should hook him up and see what happens," Willow said excited to Bulma.

"Way ahead of you, girl," Bulma smiled as she held up an USB cable. Starting up her own diagnostic laptop she plugged in the cable into her laptop and waited for it to start.

"Aren't you worried it might install something bad on your computer?" Willow asked

"Don't worry," the girl-genius said confidently, "I run an operating system within an operating system. The whole thing is firewalled off and in case something does breach the firewall the main OS immediately terminates the virtual OS. So, let's see what happens."

Once her laptop was up and running she plugged the other end of the USB cable into the opening in Spike's skull.

"Careful, love," Spike said as she had to push the last part of the connector in.

"And we're in," Bulma said as her laptop announced it had found new hardware.

"Hey, Spike, you're new hardware," Xander jeered, "the Initiative H17-X to be precise."

"Oh, go fuck yourself," Spike said annoyed, then he leaned over so he could have a look at Bulma's computer as well.

"No, I don't have any software to install," Bulma said annoyed as some window on the screen asked her for software, then she smiled viciously, "I do have this though."

She started a new program.

"This is a program a computer intern came up with. It's utterly brilliant. Naturally she now works for us. If you don't have the software for a connected piece of hardware it checks it out and then writes the program for you."

"Seems like mumbo-jumbo to m…." Spike said, then his eyes turned glassy and he froze in place.

"As you can see the program is busy learning what Spike's all about," Bulma said pointing to the limp vampire, "until it's finished it has put him basically in stand-by mode."

"Awesome!" Xander said, then he took the vampire's right hand, folded every finger into a fist except the middle finger and carefully maneuvered said middle finger into one of Spike's nostrils.

"There," Xander said contently, "a living piece of art."

Xander took a step backwards and held up a thumb as he looked at Spike.

"It needs more," he finally said and proceeded to do the same with Spike's left hand.

While Xander was having fun with Spike's limp but twistable body, Bulma stared at her computer as the program did its work and wrote a new program.

"That's a lot of program," Willow said as she watched the program's slow progress.

"Tea, anyone?" Giles said as he emerged from his kitchen with a trey.

x

* * *

x

In the end it took Bulma's program two hours to crack Spike and the vampire came back to life.

"…e," he said before noticing that something was wrong with him, "Bloody hell! Why are my fingers up my nose?"

"I wouldn't know anything about it," Xander smiled with thinly veiled amusement, earning him a suspicious look from Spike.

"Oh my god!' Bulma exclaimed as her eyes nearly popped out their sockets looking at the computer screen.

"That's a bad ohmigod, isn't it?" Willow asked worried.

"You've got Gero type implants in you," Bulma said.

"Gero what?" Spike asked.

"How can that be," Piccolo asked, "Has Gero sent out another android?"

"I don't think so," Bulma said as she scrolled through the newly created program, "for the name Initiative keeps popping a lot instead. If I were to guess, somebody's gotten their hands on either a Gero type android or on the data we collected from them. But I think the former. Some of that stuff is pretty cutting edge and retro-engineering always goes faster if you have the actual example to tinker with."

"I'll make some calls," Riley said and pulled forth his cell phone, "see what I can dig up."

"So that's what gotten you spooked," Piccolo said as he looked at the data Bulma was looking through. It meant absolutely nothing to him but he was sure that if it gotten her spooked it most be bad.

"It's not just the fact that somebody managed to understand and figure out this technology," Bulma said pointing to the data, "but that they also managed to improve it so much. If this Initiative and Gero ever managed to hook up together I'd shudder to think what kind of android they would build."

"So what's the verdict," Spike asked, what can I do?"

Bulma brought up some more data.

"You've got the same energy reactor as androids #14 and #15, and probably like #13 had as well. This means that unlike normal fighters you've got enough energy to keep powering a medium size city . Which should give you the ability to keep on fighting as your opponents get tired. I think your power has been increased tenfold over that of the original design, and with the right kind of software upgrade even more is possible. On the other hand, you'll get no benefits from training, other then learning some new stuff."

"Hmmm," Spike said as he looked at Xander, "the wheel turns, doesn't it, Droopy?"

Xander didn't reply, he just barely concealed a big goofy grin.

"What's so funny?" Spike asked wearily.

"Nothing," Xander grinned.

As Spike cast a weary eye on Xander Giles held up a piece of paper.

"I've found something," he said triumphantly.

"What?" the big Namek asked.

"This is a report a vengeance demon gave me two months ago," Giles said, "It tells us what they are up to in the area. But what's of interest is this little memo that was tacked on the back."

"What does it say?"

"It's a memo from D'Hoffryn telling his demons to avoid the greater Cleveland area stating that bad things are happening there to demons."

"That's not much," Piccolo said unimpressed.

"It is if you realize that the last time he issued a directive like this was when Belmovekk confronted him," Giles countered, "They usually operate with near impunity."

"Oh my God!" Bulma suddenly said.

"That don't sound good," Spike said worried.

"You've got a tracking device in you," she said and began to type on her laptop.

"That's bad, right?" Willow said, "That means they could come in here any moment."

"Quite," Bulma said still typing.

"Then let's cut it out!" Spike said vehemently, "Cause I'm not going back there."

"Relax," Bulma said as she let out a big sigh, "I've turned your signal off."

"Yeah, but it's still in me," Spike protested.

"So? Have you any idea how much stuff's inside you? The only way I could remove it is by killing you," Bulma replied as she looked at Spike, then her face turned quizzical, "Why do you have all those markings on your face?"

"What markings?" Spike asked, then he looked at Xander who was rolling on the floor laughing.

"Why you…." he exclaimed, then he picked up Bulma's small digital camera, aimed it at himself and took a picture. Reversing it he looked at the picture he had just taken of himself.

Beside a crudely drawn goatee and a mono brow between his eye brows he could now see that Xander had colored the tip of his nose black and drawn three whisker hairs on each side of his nose. And two smiley faces on his cheeks.

"DROOPY!"

"I think it looks cute," Faith said with a big grin. Meanwhile Xander quickly disposed of his magic marker.

"I hate you," Spike said towards Xander.

"Bite me, overbite," Xander grinned back, "Oh, that's true, you can't."

Spike tried to make a swing towards Xander, only to clutch his head in pain again.

"Aw, bugger!" he cringed, then he turned towards Bulma, "I'll give you a fortune if you can turn off whatever it is that prevents me from kicking Droopy's arse."

"I can't," Bulma said pointing towards her computer, "whatever it is that keeps you from harming others, it's not connected to all of this."

"Maybe it's this," Willow said as she pointed to the scans Bulma had made earlier and pointed to a black dot inside Spike's head, "It's not connected to any of the other things, but it does sit right in his brain."

"You're right," Bulma said as she studied the scans, then she looked at Spike again, "it's either a fail safe, in case your other controls fail, or it was the first thing they put into you, like some sort of control collar."

"Poor Spike," Xander taunted, "not only neutered, but on a leash as well."

"You have no idea how much I hate you right now," Spike sighed as he closed his eyes.

"The feeling's mutual," Xander countered, "Fangless!"

Some more shouting followed until Riley entered the room again as he pocketed his cell phone.

"Well, the good news is that the SGC says the bodies of the other two androids are still in storage," he said, "they even had a guy make a visual check."

"And what's the bad news?" Piccolo asked.

"Something's most definitely going on in Cleveland and it has to be government related," the major said dejected, "I called a buddy at the Pentagon to look into something called the Initiative and within minutes he received a call telling him to, and I quote: 'If you know what's good for you, back off and never look into this again'."

"So the men in black are out to get us," Xander said as he shook his head, then he looked around, "So, when do Will and I go to Cleveland with Robospike here?"

"Sod off," Spike said angry, "I'm not going. And certainly not with you."

"Why don't you all just call Goku?" Bulma suggested, "I mean, if someone is using Gero's technology to create super soldiers, shouldn't he know?"

"I think not," Piccolo said shaking his head.

"God, not more of this macho 'let's do it ourselves' bullshit?" Bulma said dejected, "I thought you were smarter then that, Piccolo."

Piccolo, didn't immediately reply, then he looked at Faith and the others as a grin began to grow on his face.

"This might be a good case for them," he grinned, "they're never going to learn if Belmovekk or Goku always has to come to their rescue."

"What, all of us?" Xander said pointing towards Faith.

"Think of it as a bonding exercise," the large Namek smirked.

"There's no way I'm going back to Cleveland with him and the Slayerette," Spike protested, "even if she's technically stronger then Droopy."

"That's another thing you must look into," Piccolo said towards Bulma, "It would seem that he has some form of scouter built into him, like the ones Saiyans used to carry around with him."

"I'll look into it," Bulma said but then Spike yanked the USB cable from his head.

"Look, your Greenness," he said, "I'm not going back to Cleveland, and certainly not with Droopy he…."

Before he could finish Piccolo picked the vampire up by the neck and he slammed him against a wall.

"Look, you undead piece of garbage," Piccolo growled, "so far I've suffered your existence because you're a source of information to us. Do NOT mistake my largesse for any liking of your undead carcass. Now get this into your lobotomized skull. You only live as long as you are useful to us! So..., be useful to us! You'll go with them to Cleveland, or so help you Kami, I will rip out every piece of hardware into your body and stuff it down your throat."

"Now, will you play nice and go to Cleveland with these kids? Blink twice for yes."

Spike quickly blinked his eyes twice.

"Good," Piccolo said, "now the only thing I want to hear about you once they return is that you were a good little vampire and did as you were told. Do we understand each other. You may blink twice again for yes."

Spike blinked again twice and Piccolo let him go, causing Spike to fall to the ground, clutching his neck.

"We should really get one of those digital cameras as well," Xander said regretfully to Willow after he couldn't immediately find Bulma's, "we always seem to miss these awesome scenes."

"You were right there, Xander," Willow countered, "You didn't miss anything."

"Yeah, but how am I going to show this Buffy?" Xander said mournfully.

"I miss Buffy," Willow said sadly, "this just doesn't feel right without her."

"All the more reason to get a digital camera ourselves," Xander said, "Imagine all the fun things we can show her that she missed."

Meanwhile Faith approached Piccolo after the Namek had left the living room to go outside and get a breath of fresh air.

"Are you serious, Jolly Green?" she asked him, "Sending me away with them?"

"Bird's gotta leave the nest at some point," Piccolo shrugged, "This is as good a time as it gets."

"But surely you're coming along?" Faith asked with a growing sinking feeling.

"The vampire will behave, I'm sure of it," the Namek replied confidently.

"That's not what I had in mind," Faith countered.

Piccolo looked at her and narrowed one eye.

"I know what you had in mind, and the answer's the same. I meant what I said against Bulma. Unless you guys stop relying on a Goku, a Belmovekk, or even me, you will never come into your own right. And I won't have you, or those there inside turn into another one of Goku's merry band, whose only idea seems to think about what Goku would do."

Then the Namek smiled.

"Besides, I promised Belmovekk I would keep an eye on things. Can't do that for him all the way from Cleveland."


	8. Chapter Five

**Chapter 5**

' **Know Your Enemy'**

x

x

AN: _I think I must have written this chapter in a week. A new personal record. When you're in the zone time flies when you're writing. Anyway, the set up has been completed, the game's finally afoot!_

 _x_

 _green falcon: Glad you liked it. Lots of planning went into getting the BtVS characters powerlevels up in a way that made sense. After all, they had a lot of catching up to do. Which is why I had to get them into a gravity gym ASAP and some powerups along the way. And also why they're not currently in college but training full time. The idea was to get them up to the start of the Android saga at the same level as the DBZ humans, with the Slayers a little above that._

 _As for Buffy now being considered a Saiyan by Saiyan law, probably not. Saiyans are probably too xenophobic for that._ _ _Maybe if she could beat enough Saiyans in hand to hand combat they would accept her as a sort of honorary Saiyan._ But she is now legally adopted into the family. And probably entitled to a part of the family asteroid debris field. _

_As for Buffy and Faith becoming Super Slayers I will neither confirm nor deny this for obvious reasons._

x

* * *

x

A day minus 250

x

It was weird being in space.

Ever since stepping through the Giant Sliding Thingy Buffy had this ever increasing feeling of unease. And it wasn't related to that stupid dream she just had again. At least this time she didn't scream waking up. For Jonesy was growing ever more nosey. And he was also way too smart for comfort.

No, it was a combination of queasiness in her stomach, like she was always on the verge of throwing up, and this throbbing feeling in her head, like she was alternating between the mother of all headaches and a bout of dizziness like she had just spent three hours non stop on a swiveling office chair.

She had talked it over with Belmo and he came to the conclusion that it might have something to do with her being the Slayer and that it was somehow linked to Earth itself. Somehow it didn't like being away from Earth. It would explain why no Slayers had ever emerged on the various human cultures and planets in space. Even though logic would have it that whoever had transplanted these humans also nabbed some of the potentials that lived amongst them.

She sat up on her bunk and rested her head on her hands as she tried to come to terms with her ill being. Luckily these Goolds had some good travel medicine. She reached for another of those pills. They didn't take away the symptoms, but they did take away the edge.

The door to the small room opened and Jonesy popped his head.

"Selmak says we're almost there," he said, "and O'Neill says to get ready."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard it," Buffy said dismissively. It wasn't that she disliked the guy, quite the opposite in fact, it was more like the guy, in addition to being smart, seemingly had a crush on her or something. Forever following her around like a puppy. And that was getting tiresome.

"Are you alright?" Jonesy asked with that concerned puppy face of his, "Did you have another nightmare?"

"On the contrary, I slept like a baby," Buffy lied as she reached for one of her big ass army boots. There better not be any pictures of her in this cumbersome army gear because she would be forced to kill whoever took those pictures. Some fashion sins were just too great to be forgiven.

"A funny expression, sleeping like a baby," Jonesy smiled, "for a baby sleeps most of the day, and you just had a few…."

Buffy stopped dressing and gave him a stern look.

"Now what did we talk about how sometimes a cigar just being that?" she said chiding.

"I understand," Jonesy nodded, then he pointed behind, "If you like, there's still some food left."

"A Saiyan had his fill and there's still some food left?" Buffy said incredulously as she reached for her other boot, "It's the end of the world as we know it."

"I didn't know people could eat so much," Jonesy said shaking his head.

"Oh, Jonesy," Buffy said.

"What?"

"Shoo?" she said waving her head to tell him to go away, "Private girl stuff going to happen? Privacy much?"

"Oh," Jonesy said as he finally took the hint. Then he closed the door behind him and walked back to the ready room.

"Is she coming?" O'Neill asked as Jonas entered the ready room.

"She, um, had, um, private girl stuff to do," Jonas replied.

"Ah," O'Neill said, then he began to chortle, "then we're lucky she didn't bring her complete wardrobe with her. What was she thinking bringing all that make up to the base?"

Then Teal'c entered the ready room.

"O'Neill," he said, "Selmak requests your presence in the cockpit."

"No rest for the wicked," O'Neill sighed as he got up from the comfortable seat and followed Teal'c to the front of the space ship they were in until he emerged in the control room. There, sitting in the pilot's seat next was the Tok'ra Selmak, also known as Jacob Carter. Next to him was the Saiyan Belmovekk and together they were studying a holographic depiction.

"What's the problem?" O'Neill asked.

"This," Jacob said using his Tok'ra voice as he pointed to the holographic representation of the solar system they were approaching. As it turned out the Temple of Woe was situated on the fourth planet of this solar system. The planet was even connected to the Stargate system, so direct travel shouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately the Temple of Woo was situated on the direct opposite end of the planet, another continent even. Since it was still impossible to send a usable long range transport vehicle through the gate the Tok'ra had proposed using one of their transport craft to travel to the planet and transport down directly next to the temple.

Unfortunately the planet and the solar system it was in was situated on the very edge of the Galaxy, so it had probably taken them longer to go there then it would have taken to traverse the planet if the SGC had been able to send an aircraft through the gate. Alas, despite the need for such a device the ongoing war against the Goa'uld meant that no money was available to develop such a craft.

As O'Neill studied the holographic representation of the target solar system he noticed a small symbol orbiting the fourth planet.

"Someone else is there?" he asked the Tok'ra.

"It's a Goa'uld Ha'tak," Selmak said.

"They have beaten us to this planet," the Saiyan said, "fortunately our Tok'ra ally has informed me that this ship carries a cloaking device, so we may avoid detection."

"But it means we would have to take a different approach," Selmak said as he touched the hologram and drew a line to the fourth planet, "unfortunately it will take us longer to reach our destination. Even with the cloak I cannot risk a direct approach."

"Swell," O'Neill muttered annoyed.

x

* * *

x

A day minus 249

x

A long snakelike appendage wrapped itself around Faith's neck and squeezed the life out of her.

"Hello Faith," was the last thing she heard before she passed out.

Only to wake again in a moving car.

"Huh," Faith muttered as she opened her eyes and looked around herself.

"Having a bit of a nightmare, love," Spike said to her left.

"I'm fine," Faith said as she looked outside to the passing countryside.

"You didn't look fine," Spike replied, then he resumed his own blank stare to the outside.

Despite Spike's newly found ability to endure the sunlight it was decided to take a night flight to Pittsburgh instead and from there take a rental car to Cleveland. Direct personal flight was ruled out because Willow couldn't fly and if this Initiative was some shady branch of government then who knows if they could keep track of flying people or magical portals.

The ride to Cleveland was uneventful. The closer they came to Cleveland, the more Spike withdrew in himself and stopped bickering with Xander, the driver. For which Faith was profoundly grateful. Except now the banter was more between Xander and Red as the two sat up front and continued to make private small talk. Even now discussing which Doctor Who theme was the best. In a way it suited the loner inside Faith.

On the other hand it made her feel like the third wheel on their car. Except in this case there was also the fourth wheel Spike. But he wasn't turning much.

Being left alone meant that Faith had now plenty of time to contemplate these weird dreams she was having. She still hadn't told anyone. Because they were weird and strange at first. And now because the only person whom she wanted to tell wasn't there anymore.

God did she miss Jolly Green.

As they neared Cleveland via interstate 80 Xander glanced briefly over his shoulder.

"I suggest we find ourselves a motel on the outskirts and use that as a base of operations," he suggested.

"Fine," Faith replied, "You'll do that, I'll go out and see if I can dig something up."

Xander glanced over his shoulder again.

"That's not why we're here," he said, "we should work together as a team."

"And I'll do that," Faith countered, "I'll let you know what I come up with."

"Not going to happen that way, Faith," Xander said unrelenting.

"You suck," Faith said annoyed.

"I second that," Spike spoke up.

"Second this!" Xander said as he gave Spike the finger.

x

* * *

x

After they had checked in a motel Xander let himself fall down on a bed. After the all night flight and drive he felt exhausted and he figured it would be best to wait. Besides now that it was morning he didn't think there would be many demons out there for them to question. So this was the time to catch up on some sleep.

Willow on the other hand used some magic to dispel her need for sleep and logged in on the internet with her computer. Barring the occasional toilet and snack break that meant she was lost to humanity for the rest of the day.

That left only Spike as a companion to talk with for Faith. To bad it turned that Mr. Big Bad Ass Bleached Blonde vampire was addicted to daytime soaps. Especially one called Passions which was so god awfully bad Faith felt her IQ drop just by being in the same room with the television where it was on.

Unfortunately for her she was also so god awfully bored she sat down on the same bed as Spike to watch the series with him. Lucky for her now that he was watching his favorite soap Spike became more talkative. Especially as he came to the realization that he had missed several months worth of episodes.

"What, Jane's with Jeff now?" he exclaimed, "She can't be with Jeff, she hated him!"

"Why can't she be with him?" Faith asked, "They seem pretty chummy now."

"He ruined her relationship with Tom," Spike said gesturing to the TV, "How stupid can you be if you hook up with the guy that sabotaged your previous relationship with…., what do you mean she's pregnant with his kid. Aaaahhh! This makes no sense!"

"My thoughts exactly," Faith sighed bored.

But despite his dismay Spike did not change the channel and continued watching his soaps. In the end Faith let herself lay down on the bed and decided to try and get some sleep. Having another nightmare seemed by now preferable to watching Spike's soaps. Even though she was well versed in having watched tons of daytime TV when she still stayed in that motel in Sunnydale, even she didn't stoop as low as watching daytime soaps. She found the daytime talkshows and their endless parade of freaks, cheaters and big chested strippers to be far more entertaining. After all, there was always a chance to see a good nasty cat fight happening over some double dating trailer park loser.

Uncharacteristically she didn't dream the dream again and awoke at 02:00 PM from an uneventful sleep. Which was nicely refreshing for a change. As she did she found Spike still glued to the TV set and Willow to her laptop. Xander on the other hand was gone. Seeing his bed empty she felt anger rise at Xander having ditched her when the door opened and Xander walked in carrying bags of Mickey D.

"I come bearing food," he said as he held up a large selection of paper bags. He put one bag next to Willow, who hardly even noticed it and dumped another in Spike's lap.

"What? No blood?" the vampire complained but Xander shrugged indifferent.

"You've got an infinite energy reactor built inside you," he said and nodded towards their duffel bags, "and there is still some pigs blood left. Be glad I got you something."

"It's goddamn Mc Donald's," Spike complained, "Couldn't you have gone to the Colonel for some spicy chicken wings?"

"See my last reply," Xander said and dumped the remainder on his bed, then he gave four bags to Faith, "Here, have some too."

Faith peered in the bag and looked at its content.

"Don't tell me you're suddenly a gourmet connoisseur as well," Xander said as he opened a Big Mac carton.

"No," Faith said, continuing to look into the bag, "It's just that…, I've been living in the woods for nearly six months."

"So you're no longer used to fast food?" Xander asked, before biting into his big Mac.

"No," Faith said as she took out a cheeseburger and carefully unwrapped it, peering at the greasy thing, "it's just….., if you live on healthy food for six months straight all you can think of after a while is fast food. You start to dream of cheeseburgers. Every round object becomes a pizza, you forget the taste of a milkshake."

"So eat then," Xander burped after having devoured his big Mac.

"Yeah, but if you dreamed of fast food for so long you kinda don't believe you're holding the real thing in your hands."

Then Faith sank her teeth into the cheeseburger and she closed her eyes.

"I'm in heaven," she said dreamily.

"You're both nuts," Spike muttered, then he opened his carton of chicken nuggets.

x

* * *

x

Despite a day's worth of virtual investigations Willow came up short as she presented her findings.

"Whoever did their computer security, he's really good," Willow said as she nibbled absentmindedly on a cold burger, "There is not a shred of evidence of something called the Initiative on the internet and government databases."

"Doesn't that mean that it doesn't exist?" Xander asked but Willow shook her head.

"It does exist," Willow replied as she brought up a screen full of data that meant absolutely nothing to Xander, "the moment I even typed in the name Initiative I got flagged by at least half a dozen of 'Agents'. So it does mean something to somebody."

"Agents?" Faith asked curious.

"You know," Willow said, "Agents. Guardian programs meant to track down hackers. Like in the Matrix. I think two of them were even magical in nature."

"You mean you let them track you down to this motel?" Spike asked nervously. Upon which Willow gave him a dirty look.

"How stupid do you think I am?" she asked, "Of course I didn't let them track me. I never go online without using at least six proxy relays to hide myself. I doubled that for this. And I have my own 'Agents' to protect me. And I sent 'tracker' programs out to find out how those 'Agents' work and from where. At least two "Agents' seem to come from servers located in the Cleveland area."

"So you think we're in the right place?" Xander asked.

"Hey, didn't I tell you I came from here?" Spike said, but Xander ignored him.

"It looks like it," Willow said as she brought up an internet page, "I've found at least three sites that mention a large underground bunker system underneath Cleveland from the Cold War, but there is no mention of it anywhere in the official records."

"Could that just be because there is nothing?" Faith asked, but Willow shook her head.

"I don't think so," she said confidently, "there is a lot of indirect evidence that somebody went to great lengths to remove all evidence of this bunker system. And that even fake records were planted in some cases."

"Sometimes you have to find something by the lack of evidence it leaves behind," Xander said almost absentmindedly, then he looked at Spike, "Too bad you don't remember much of your escape. Of where you got out."

"Not my fault," Spike muttered aggrieved, "I had other things on my mind at the time."

"At least two of the sites mention that it was situated near the university," Willow said and brought up a student message board on her laptop, "Cleveland State University, not the other one. And there are some messages that mention seeing masked men at night. So something is most definitely going on here."

"Thanks Will," Xander said as he put his hand on her shoulder, "good job."

"I'm not done yet," Willow said as she reversed her laptop so only she could look at it, "I'm going to run a search on people who could be working for this Initiative. There are only so many qualified people who can do what's been done to Spike. And if they dropped off the radar then they must work for this Initiative."

"Even better thinking, Will," Xander said impressed, then he turned to Faith, "Come, let's go hit the town and shake up some of the underground."

"Finally," Faith said as she reached for her jacket.

"Let's go," Spike said as he reached for the TV to try and switch it off.

"Oh no you don't," Xander said as he stopped Spike's hand, "Go watch some more of your soaps because your undead ass is not leaving this room."

"I'm not staying here while little Miss Muffit leads the search hounds here with her snooping around," Spike protested as he pointed towards Willow, "No offense, Red."

"And I'm not taking you around Cleveland in plain sight," Xander countered, "so sit down, fangless, and watch your soaps cause you're staying here."

"I'll run away," Spike muttered aggrieved, "I'm not staying here till the white hats arrive."

"Oh, did I forget to mention it?" Xander said as he picked a small device from his pocket, "while she was busy servicing you Bulma gave me a transmitter. If you run away I'll press it and your beacon will transmit again. Not only will I be able to find you, so will they."

Spike's face turned angry, then he turned as white as a ghost.

"You bastards!" he shouted, "How dare…., you wouldn't?"

"Oh, I would," Xander said deadpan, "if only to save us the trouble of finding them while they take you back to their base."

"Ohh," Spike said fuming, then he sat down on the bed, "I won't forget this, Droopy."

"If only we're so lucky," Xander sighed, then he and Faith walked out of the door.

"Do you really have a remote for that thing?" Faith asked as Xander walked to their rental car.

"Catch!" Xander said as he threw her something. As she caught it she saw it was the device Xander had used to intimidate the vampire.

"Press it," Xander smiled, causing Faith to look at him like he had lost his mind.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said, "what about the beacon?"

"Press it," Xander insisted, "Otherwise we won't be leaving."

Against her better judgment Faith pressed the button.

"Beep peep."

With two beeps the locks on the rental car were unlocked, causing Faith to stare at the device in her hand, then at Xander.

"Told ya we wouldn't be leaving until you pressed it," Xander grinned then he held out his hand, "can I have it back?"

"You bluffed him with the car's locking system?" Faith said as she threw the car's remote key back to Xander.

"Had to use something," Xander said as he stepped into the car, "I asked Bulma if it were possible but she didn't have enough time. Someday maybe, but not today."

"Clever," Faith said admiringly as she sat down next to him, "So where are we going?"

"I know a couple of places," Xander replied and started the car.

As they drove off the motel parking lot Faith suddenly sighed.

"I miss Oz."

Xander glanced at Faith.

"I miss the little guy too," he said slightly melancholically, "You know it was his idea that helped restore Angela? Up to a point I guess, but that wasn't his fault. You two were close, right?"

"Like family," Faith nodded, "I wi… I wouldn't mind if he were here."

"You remembered," Xander said, pointing a finger at Faith, "and just in time. But yeah, I wouldn't mind having him along. I miss the guy talk mostly. Don't get me wrong, Riley has his moments, but he's older. Practically a baby boomer. He don't half get all the jokes Oz did. Plus he's military, half his conversations go about soldier stuff. The other half about how much he likes Buffy. So as you can imagine he's not exactly the most stimulating conversationalist."

"So what exactly happened?" Faith asked, "I know they broke up, over some werewolf thing."

"I dunno," Xander sighed, "There was this werewolf pheromone thingy going on and….. "

Xander stopped talking for a moment and looked aside.

"You know what I think?" he finally said, "There's a time and a place for everything. And I think Willow's and Oz's time was just up. The Big Guy once told me that these Necessities, well, at least the good one, that once you have served your purpose you are allowed to go and have your quiet time under the sun. I like to think that Oz served his purpose and now he's allowed to have his quiet time. Unfortunately that means he has to go as far away from us as possible."

"Why's that?" Faith asked curious, "Why couldn't he and Red live happily ever after?"

Xander gave her a strange look.

"I thought you knew?" he said, "Only bad shit happens to us. Just when you think you get a lucky break the universe takes an even bigger dump on you. Just look at Angela. She's the kindest soul I've ever met and look what happened to her. She sold her body to save my life when she should have run. Buffy had her, well, boyfriend, cause I still can't bring myself to calling Deadboy her soulmate, she had her boyfriend turn into a soulless vampire. And then enjoy a year of healthy sexual frustration as they longer could do the nasty when he returned. Trust me, Oz's the smart one. He got out in time."

"You ran away, remember?" Faith countered, "From what I gathered it didn't help you much."

"That's because I'm a marked man," Xander said gloomily, "I'm marked for death."

"Christ," Faith exclaimed, "Who are you and where's Xander buried? You were supposed to be the cheerful one. If you're like that, why haven't you slid your throat yet? What makes you get up in the morning?"

Xander thought it over for a moment before he replied.

"Vengeance."

x

* * *

x

"A strip club?" Faith said incredulously as they entered the place Xander had taken her, "I never figured you as a fan of the burlesque?"

"Are you kidding?" Xander replied as he checked out the place, "I'm a young man in the prime of his life whose not getting any, this place is perfect for me. I used to dream of the day until I was legal enough to come here."

Faith wanted to say something when it hit her. Xander wasn't getting any, even though he had a girl living with him. He really was just taking care of her.

"So why are we really here?" she asked as she ogled a passing stripper with her tits hanging out.

"I know a guy here," Xander said as he strained his neck trying to find someone, "but he doesn't appear to be here."

"People could change their watering holes, you know," Faith said, "and this town certainly has a lot more of them then Sunnydale."

"Not if you happen to own the joint and like to watch some hot human ass," Xander replied as he looked some more.

"Ah," Faith said as she finally understood, "I take it this guy's not of the homo sapiens variety?"

"Good guess," Xander said, "maybe he's out on business. Let's ask the barman."

The two moved over to the bar where they hopped onto a chair.

"What can I get you two," the barman asked.

"A beer," Faith immediately said, then she turned to face Xander, "What? You try living in the jungle for six months and see if you don't start dreaming of beer."

The barman eyed her suspiciously, then he shrugged and pulled out a cold one.

"You know, with your looks you could make a lot of money," he said as he handed her the beer.

"So I've been told," Faith grinned as she reached for her beer, "But I'm just passing through."

"Lots of them are just passing through," the barman smiled back as he nodded towards the stage, then he looked at Xander, "And what can I get you?"

"That depends," Xander said, "I'm looking for someone."

"Aren't we all?" the barman replied leaning on the bar, "Look, I have to tell you dude, you can watch the girls for free but we do have a one drink minimum."

"I'm looking for Xichulub," Xander said.

The barman raised an eyebrow and stopped leaning on the counter. Then he reached for a cleaning cloth and began to clean the counter.

"I don't know any Xichulub," the barman said evasively.

"Sure you do," Xander pressed on, "large fat guy, likes the ladies. Has a bit of a skin problem that makes him look a little less human and a little more…, demony?"

The barman gave him a stare.

"You're talking nonsense," he said as he stopped cleaning, "There is no such guy. And certainly no one who fits your description."

"Come on," Xander said as he held up both hands, "You and I know how the world really works. Guy owns the place, usually sits over there with his two demon bodyguards."

The barman leaned over and looked Xander in the eyes.

"Look, mister, I don't know any guy by that name, nor do I know of demon bodyguards. Fat Tony owns the place and I think you should leave," he said, then he turned to Faith as well, "That goes for the both of you."

"I haven't even finished my beer," Faith protested.

"Then drink up and leave," the barman said and pointed towards the door, "Don't make me call security. And you still owe me three bucks for the beer."

"Here," Xander said as he slammed a five dollar bill on the counter, "keep the change."

Faith took one last swig from her bottle then she put the bottle down and got off the bar stool.

"Just so you know," she said defiantly, "you guys couldn't even afford me if you tried."

Then they both left and exited the place.

"That was fruitful," Faith said as they reached their rental car, "That was your big contact? Your claim to fame for coming to Cleveland?"

"Can it!" Xander said annoyed as he rested his arms on the roof of their car, "Something must have happened to him. A gang war or something."

"Oh, no," Faith said sarcastically, "You really think so?"

"Guy mentioned Fat Tony, that was his rival," Xander said.

"He a demon too?" Faith asked.

"Nah," Xander said shaking his head, "Human, but he's connected. He and Xichulub ran illegal fights between humans and demons. He supplied the demons. Talk about irony."

"Then we go and have a chat with him," Faith said as she opened her car door.

"I suppose," Xander said sullen.

He was about to get in the car when they heard something.

"Pssst," a soft voice said, causing the both of them to turn their heads.

A girl, by the looks of her skimpy attire underneath her coat one of the club's strippers, emerged from between the other cars.

"Are you Xander?" the girl asked wearily as she eyed her surroundings, "You look like him. I think I saw you the last time you were here."

"I am," Xander replied, "Are you okay? It's cold and…"

"I grew up here," the girl said, "I'll be fine. I have a message for you."

She handed him over a slip a paper. On it was a phone number.

"You can call Xichs at that number," she said and turned around to go back inside.

"Wait," Xander called out after her, "What the hell happened?"

"Bad stuff happened," the girl said, "and then Fat Tony took over. If he knows I'm talking to you….."

"I understand," Xander said nodding sympathetically, "go back inside."

"I don't get it," Faith said to the girl, "Why do you do this? What's in it for you? This Xichub, Fat Tony? Aren't they all the same?"

The girl smiled fondly.

"Xichs was good to us, he was nice to me. Fat Tony only cares about the money."

"Wow, a faithful stripper," Faith said after the girl disappeared inside again, "Now I've seen everything."

"What can I say," Xander shrugged, then he pulled forth his cell phone, "Xichulub really likes the ladies. And they seem to like him."

x

* * *

x

"It does not make sense."

"What doesn't make sense?" the Tok'ra Selmak asked.

Ever since emerging from hyperspace Selmak had taken his Tok'ra shuttle on a long approach to the fourth planet from the opposite direction to avoid detection from the lone Ha'tak cruiser in orbit of that planet.

"If this weapon is of such great importance to Anubis, why he send out just a lone Ha'tak?" Belmovekk said.

They were all gathered in the shuttle's control room, except for Buffy who was doing some training in the cargo bay, together with Teal'c. And Jonas watching her of course.

"Because he wants to keep things a secret?" O'Neill said, "It is after all something secret he's after. When you don't want people to know what you're doing you don't send out a carrier battle group when a single frigate will suffice."

Belmovekk gave O'Neill a glare.

"He is a Goa'uld, Commander. They do not do subtle."

"He got you there, Jack," the Tok'ra grinned in his normal voice, "If a Goa'uld wants something, he will more often then not do send out a carrier battle group when that frigate would have sufficed."

"Shouldn't the Ha'tak be running a CAP or something?" Sam asked, "It just sits there doing nothing."

"She's right," a voice, heavily laden with overtones said. As Belmovekk looked around he found himself on yet another place in his memories. In this case the bridge of the Pride of Amūn. As he turned around he say himself sitting in the command chair. In gold armor of course.

"Do not mistake Anubis for a simple Systemlord," his double's voice said, laded with harmonic overtones, "He will do subtle if he has too. And if it means acquiring a hidden Galaxy conquering super weapon through stealth he will."

"Then why do I feel so ill at ease?" Belmovekk asked the Goa'uld that was inside his mind, "Something is wrong."

The Goa'uld leaned forward from his command chair.

"Maybe its because you brought _her_ along?" Amūn said, "She clouds your judgment. Makes you doubt yourself when you should be focused on your mission. It happened before, remember? When you took Mayan on that ill-fated campaign."

Belmovekk took a step towards his Goa'uld double.

"Be careful where you thread, little worm, one day your sharp tongue will see you expunged."

"Doubtful," Amūn shrugged unimpressed, "If you wanted too you would have done so long ago. Admit it, Saiyan, you like our little talks, besides, do I not prove my worth to you every time?"

The Goa'uld pushed a button on his command chair and a holographic screen came into view, one that depicted the solar system they were currently in.

"The major is right," Amūn said as he pointed to the Ha'tak orbiting the fourth planet, "they should be running at least a token CAP. That they're not doing so means either gross incompetence or that something's wrong. I would not count on incompetence on the part of Anubis. For no matter how much I dislike him, incompetent he is not."

x

* * *

x

Xander halted the car somewhere in North Collinwood, close to Lake Erie. He and Faith got out and walked to one of the homes, where he rang the bell. Eventually the door was opened by a man who looked at them suspiciously.

"We don't buy at the door," the man said bluntly and wanted to close the door again.

"I'm expected," Xander said and held up his drivers license, "I'm Xander Harris."

The man peered at the drivers license intently, then he looked down the street left and right before opening the door.

"Come in," he said curt and stepped aside to let Xander in. Then he ogled Faith for a moment, "Who're you?"

"She's with me," Xander said.

"The boss no longer entertains girls," the man said, not sure if to let Faith pass.

"As I said, she's with me," Xander said, this time more blunt himself, "She ain't for him."

Finally deciding it was better to let her in then draw attention outside the man let Faith in as well.

"Come," the man said and let them into the house. He opened a door and pointed to the stairs going down.

"There," he said.

Xander followed the stairs and emerged in the basement.

"Xander, my good friend," Xichulub, the fat demon said cheerfully as he saw Xander enter his basement.

"Xichulub," Xander said as the fat demon embraced him in a hug, "I see you got this college stoner basement thing going nowadays."

Xander was referring to the basement which looked like some sloppy college student was living here. A Bob Marley poster and a five pointed marihuana leaf poster completed the look.

"Well, yeah, you know, gotta keep up appearances," the fat demon said looking around the place, "after all, this is my world now."

"I heard Fat Tony moved in on your empire?" Xander said, but Xichulub didn't respond. Instead he leered admiringly at Faith as she entered the basement.

"Hubba, hubba, hubba," Xichulub said admiring the view. Faith in response gave him an unimpressed look.

" _This_ is your contact?" she said to Xander.

"Faith, meet Xichulub," Xander said gesturing towards the fat demon, "Xichulub, meet Faith."

"The pleasure's all mine," Xichulub smiled as he all but drooled over the dark Slayer, "Hello, where has Xander been hiding you for all this time?"

Faith gave him a quick look over in return.

"See this fist?" she said as she held up her left hand, "Do you have any idea how much pain it would suffer if I were put it through your skull? I'll give you a hint. None."

"Ooh, she's feisty, Xichulub said as he clapped his hands together in glee, "I like feisty."

"Zip it, Corndog," Xander said as he pulled back the fat demon, "She's with me."

"I never get to have any fun these days," Xichulub said mournfully, then he walked to a small fridge in the corner of the room, "where are my manners? Can I get you something?"

"What do you have?" Xander asked as he went to the couch and threw off some dirty clothes to make room for them to sit on.

"I got everything as long as its Coke, orangeade and Coors," the fat demon replied.

"What, no Snapple?" Xander said surprised, "I thought you loved that stuff?"

"Unfortunately Fat Tony also knows that," Xichulub replied, "The key to going successfully underground is to completely change your habits. So no more Snapple for me, I'm afraid."

"Interesting strategy," Xander remarked as he sat down, "I'll have orangeade."

"A beer," Faith said.

Xichulub took out two cans and threw one each to Xander and Faith.

"So," Xander said as he popped the can open, "the mighty Xichulub, owner of half of Cleveland, reduced to a cellar in the 'burbs. How did this happen?"

"A combination of things, really," Xichulub said as he took a can of Coca Cola for himself, "It started several months ago. A few demons began to disappear. Nothing special. Then the pace picked up and before we knew it both Fat Tony's and my organization were also hit. I just had the bad luck that I had more demons then he had. And more of them were key lieutenants. As my organization began to suffer, his suffered less. So he took advantage of the changing status quo and decided the city was no longer big enough for the both of us."

"Did you find out who was behind the abductions?" Xander asked.

"They looked like men, dressed in black army like uniforms," the fat demon said as he popped open his can, "But that doesn't mean anything. There are plenty of army surplus stores where you can get uniforms."

"So you don't think they were soldiers then?" Xander asked before taking a swig from his can.

Xichulub thought it over for a moment.

"I'm not sure," he finally said, "On the one hand they moved and operated with military precision. On the other hand, I saw them take on my bodyguards, and you've fought one of them. You have to be pretty good to take them on and they took them on like they were nothing."

"So they weren't human?" Xander asked, "So they were they demons?"

"I couldn't see their faces," Xichulub said, "they were wearing ski masks."

"Could they be vampires?" Faith asked, still standing by the stairs, "After all, they look human, but they have greater strength."

Xichulub shot Faith a frowning look.

"If they were vampires Fat Tony and me would have snuffed them out before it got out of hand, honey. Trust me, we know how to deal with vampires. Even organized ones. And besides, Guy and Fredo fought them when they attacked me. I let Fredo fight Xander here to find out if the kid's a vampire. He can sniff them out. They weren't."

"Speaking of Fredo," Xander asked, "where's the guy?"

"Dunno," Xichulub said as he looked away, "Probably dead or captured. When they attacked me I didn't stay around to wait for the outcome."

"You left your body guards behind?" Faith said incredulously, "How very…., 'noble' of you?"

"Hey, risk of the trade," Xichulub shrugged unrepentant, "that's why I'm still alive and free. And they got paid handsomely for it I might add."

"If you call this being free," Xander said as he eyed the basement, "Damn, and I thought my dingy dungeon used to be bad."

"Well, I'm pretty sure it beats where they took all the others," Xichulub said as he walked over to Xander and sat down next to him, "Where were you, man? When the shit hit began to the fan I tried to contact you but you looked like you had dropped off the Earth. I knew you were after somebody to help you cross into other realities but I didn't think you'd actually succeed."

Xander took another swig from his can and shrugged.

"Well, I got the scars to prove that I did."

Then Xichulub grinned impishly.

"I heard that you hooked up with that nice porn chick, Madison Lane, she dropped out of sight the same time you did. You two still together?"

"You could say that," Xander said slightly uncomfortable but Xichulub didn't seem to notice it.

"Oh boy, hot porn star sex, that's living the life," the demon said wistfully.

"Like with everything in life, once you get it it's not what it's cracked up to be," Xander shrugged.

"Ain't that the truth with everything you desire?" the fat demon replied.

"I'll drink to that," Xander said and he raised his can.

"Indeed," Xichulub replied and toasted his can against Xander's.

x

* * *

x

When Faith and Xander returned to their motel room they found Willow still at work behind her laptop.

"About bloody time," Spike muttered, still watching TV from his bed, "Did you bring me some blood?"

"That might not be such a good idea," Xander said as he closed the door behind them, "Not unless you want to rejoin the rest of the collection. Those guys seem to be pretty on the up and running. There's probably not a demon left in this town. I suspect that the moment you order some pigs blood anywhere, somewhere the alarm bells will be ringing."

"Bugger!" Spike muttered again and returned his gaze back to the television.

"Did you found out anything?" Willow asked looking up .from her laptop.

"Several months ago masked guys in uniforms and unmarked SUV's began to kidnap demons," Xander said as he sat down next to Willow, "And barring one or two Anne Frank wannabes there's probably not a vampire or demon left in this place."

"Unless it's a vampire gang that does the kidnapping," Faith added.

"Yeah," Xander said rolling his eyes, "Faith here still thinks it could be some gang of vampires."

"Hey, I still think it's a valid theory," Faith countered.

"Here's one even more valid," Xander said, "how about humans with implants like Spike? We know they've pulled a number on Spike, why not humans?"

"You've got to be kidding," Faith said pointing to Spike, "If they can jack up humans, why bother with Robospike here?"

"Hey, I'm right here, you know," Spike spoke up.

"Good, then you heard me," Faith said back.

"But why would they want to put implants in people?" Willow asked, "I mean, they've got the training Belmo gave them."

"Because two ways are better then one?" Xander mused, "Because they want to mass produce super soldiers which they can't do using the Big Guy's method? Because he forbade to use it here on Earth? Because there are some who don't trust him? Remember, Will, they want us dead."

Willow gave Xander a look almost bordering on pity.

"You're a real ray of sunshine these days, you know that, right?" she said, "Mister Paranoid."

"Paranoid people are harder to kill then regular people," Xander shrugged.

Willow wanted to say something, then she changed her mind.

"We should talk to Giles," she said and turned her laptop around.

"Teleconferencing?" Xander said incredulously, "Since when did Giles join us in the 21st century?"

"Since the Air Force gave him a laptop and told him to be on standby," Willow smiled, "and if they give us the means, why not use it?"

"Crafty," Xander said admiringly.

"What?" Spike called out, "Now you're going to transmit from here? Why not paint a big bullseye outside so they can find us."

"Relax," Willow said as she made the connection, "I'm using eight levels of encryption, three of them magical. There is no way they can crack that."

"I'm not talking about your computer mumbo-jumbo, you dolt!" Spike said angry, "I'm not stupid, I know you're good with those things. Just because you can't eaves drop in doesn't mean they won't notice something important's going on."

Xander and Faith looked at each other, then at Willow.

"Robospike actually makes a good point," Faith said, "the mere fact that something's so heavily protected might alert them."

"Thank you for noticing," Spike said as his attention returned to the television.

Willow shook her head and sighed.

"I know what I'm doing," she said and pointed outside, "I'm using the peer to peer file sharing traffic from the university campus' to hid my own stream in. There are so much MP3's and porn movies being swapped from there it would take the whole NSA to sift through that traffic and notice my stream."

"As usual I have no idea what you're talking about, Will, but you have my confidence," Xander said.

"What about being paranoid?" Faith asked, "Being harder to kill?"

"I got an 130.000+ powerlevel for that," Xander said.

Meanwhile Willow brought about the connection until a window appeared with in it Giles' head. A little to close to the webcam then he should have.

"We're ready," Willow said looking over her shoulder, "There's a slight delay though, because of the encryption and peer to peer piggy back."

"I believe you, Will," Xander said, then he waved at Giles in the box, "Hiya, Giles, wazzup?"

"Please, Xander, spare me," the former librarian sighed in the box.

After the introductions were over, the exchange of information took place with Xander telling Giles what they had learned.

"It is, um interesting that you should mention your theory of augmented humans," Giles said and reached for a piece of paper off camera, "Major Riley was here half an hour ago and he told me something, uh, equally interesting. According to him that Burns fellow made some calls to, let's see, something called Fort Bragg. Apparently that is the place where the army trains its special forces. And according to some friend of Burns who works at the personnel office, some time ago a lot of new promising graduates were diverted to places unknown. Which, uh, according to Riley usually means that they've re-assigned to some black-ops program. And get this, most of these men were given civilian airplane tickets to Cleveland."

Xander looked at Faith and began to smirk.

"I give up, you've won," Faith said.

"I've found some interesting things as well," Willow said and sent some files to Giles, "I've been thinking, who could be responsible for creating this technology? And then find where these people are and what they are doing now. I've come up with at least twelve people. And guess what, at least half of them are currently working or associated with the university of Cleveland."

"Now that's interesting," Xander said as Willow brought up pictures of these people on her screen besides Giles' window.

"This one caught my interest the most," Willow said as she pointed to a picture of a woman, "Professor Maggie Walsh. Even though she's currently working as a psychology professor at the Cleveland university, she's also done extensive research in the effect of behavioral modification technology in animals. Plus, in the '70's she once attended a robotics seminar from Gero itself."

"Get the fuck out of here, Red!" Faith said, sucking in some air.

"You mean that bint's responsible for this chip in my brai….," Spike said as he leaned over to have a look, then he fell silent as his jaw nearly hit the floor in shock, "Tha… that's…., that's her!"

Spike nearly fell of his bed as he tried to put some distance between him and the image on the screen.

"That's the bitch that…, she's the….," Spike stuttered pointing to the screen, "Whenever I was awake and they did things to me, she was always there. Causing pain. Always the pain."

Spike nearly withdrew in himself as he folded his legs underneath him and began to rock back and fro.

"And….. I think Spike's gone into Happy Happy Spike land," Xander said as he watched the vampire come apart, almost feeling sorry for him. Almost.

"I take it that now we know Professor Walsh is involved," Willow said.

"Fine," Faith said as she stood up, "she's the Wicked Witch of the East. Big deal! Why don't we go and pay her a visit?"

"Wow," Xander said pretending to be surprised, "I never figured you for the frontal assault type. Question though, where exactly should we pay her a visit. Spike don't remember and Will couldn't find the location."

Will looked at Xander with that big goofy smile she had when she thought she had a brilliant idea.

"I could use a spell," she smiled, "I know of several locater spells."

"Willow have you been through my….." Giles' voice called from her laptop but without having to look Willow hit the mute button.

"I've printed out these maps Willow said as she pushed her laptop aside and spread a collection of print outs on the bed, which together formed a map of the Cleveland State University and its surroundings. Then she reached beside the bed and brought forth several bowls with herbs and powders.

"It actually scares me to notice how much preparation you've put into this, Will," Xander said.

"Don't worry," Willow smiled dismissively, "It's harmless. I 'made' it myself earlier."

Then Willow began to perform the spell as she began to speak the incantations and use the herbs and powders.

"Artemis, I besiege thee, grant us a successful hunt and help us find our prey," Willow said as she reached the crescendo of her spell. As Xander looked on he noticed a few pearls of sweat running down her face as she did.

But then the map lit up and a maze of corridors and rooms flickered superimposed on the map.

"That must be the underground system," Xander said as he examined the map, "They're in the northeast of the campus grounds, near the edge."

"Does these look like entrances?" Willow said pointing to a couple of places on the map.

"They do," Xander agreed, then he began to take notes, "that one seems like a good place to enter."

The only ones not speaking were Spike, who was still withdrawn within himself, and Faith.

For Faith recognized the layout of the underground map. Well, not directly from some map she'd seen. But she did recognize the layout from a more personal level.

For she had walked through those corridors in her dream.

x

* * *

x

Standing in the temple of Woe Jonas Quinn couldn't help but be overwhelmed. It was the largest piece of Ancient architecture that he had seen in his SG-1 career. To be honest it was also his first but that was beside the point. The walls were inscribed in writings, some of it in the Ancient language, others in languages Jonas didn't recognize.

Languages weren't his original field of expertise. Originally he had been a physicist. But originally he was also from the nation of Kelowna on the planet bearing the same name. Both already seemed like a dream from a life long ago. Ever since he had defected to Earth Jonas had done its utmost to become part of SG-1 and join their fight against the Goa'uld. To that end he had gone to the Herculean length of schooling himself as the scholar that the team lacked after Daniel Jackson had died. Going so far as to read every book in the SGC, including Jackson's notes.

So now he could read some of the texts he saw on the walls and what he could read didn't put him at ease. This wasn't a storage depot for some Ancient weapon, this was a prison.

And a prison that unfortunately seemed like its inmates had been busted out.

He could see that the Slayer also understood that. The girl was extremely jittery, like she expected hell to erupt at any moment.

Maybe that was part of being the Slayer. When the Tok'ra Selmak had told the Saiyan that there were worlds out there that still cherished the legend of the Slayer, he wasn't lying. While on the wane Kelowna still had a sizeable portion of those who were devoted to the cult of She Who Protects. His own mother had been a devotee and when Jonas had been little she had taken him to the city of Arthedan, which was Slayer country through and through.

There he had seen the procession of Those Who Watch, the priests as they escorted a chosen girl to the temple to become the living embodiment of She Who Protects. It was a ceremonial role, and something that was seen more and more as backwards and even as insulting to women. To the young Jonas it had made a lasting impression. And while too much of a skeptic in later live to become a believer, to now learn on Earth that the legends had a base in reality had brought a lot of that early reverence back.

And while Colonel O'Neill intensely disliked the girl for her flippant behavior and dislike for the army Jonas could see right through that behavior. Because it didn't matter if you were some super empowered girl on Earth fighting the things that go bump in the night, or just a frightened Kelownian girl being hoisted on a shield to become an object of reverence. It just plainly sucked being denied a normal life, no matter how much everybody else thought it was an honor. And some girls coped better with it then others.

On Kelowna being Chosen meant a year long term as an object of worship followed by a life long term as an object of reverence. The year long stint was easy, it was the job for life that caused many a girl to go off their rocker. Considering that Buffy Summers didn't have to play nice, evade reporters trying to get pictures of her latest boyfriend, but instead actually fought all the stuff from human nightmares until the day she got killed, considering all that she wasn't doing so bad. It also amazed Jonas to no small ends that O'Neill and Major Carter still hadn't caught on to the fact that if the Slayer was real, so were all the nightmares she was supposed to fight.

As he saw her kneel down next to some of the abandoned excavation gear Jonas raised his camera and took a picture of her. Which she naturally noticed.

"You know, Jonesy, stalkers are only romantic in bad vampire movies," she said without even glancing in his direction.

"Just a picture for my personal collection," Jonas replied. If he ever managed to get back to Kelowna and show his mother a picture of the actual true honest to god She Who Protects she'd either freak out or never believe it. Probably even both. Still, somehow it felt good to have it. Like his own personal benediction from She Who Protects.

"'Personal' indeed," she snorted, then she got up and walked around nervously, like an animal sensing that danger was nearby. With her paying particular much attention to a large stone block, its purpose unclear.

Not sure what to make of it Jonas turned around and saw Teal'c walk by, equally weary. The Jaffa carried a staff gun, a portable staff cannon really, that was so freakishly huge and absurd, it became funny again in a weird way.

At least Jonas could understand the Jaffa's weariness. Ever since they had arrived in this solar system and found a Ha'tak battlecruiser in orbit things had gone freakishly easy. Logic dictated that if Anubis had arrived in this system and maintained such an open armed presence they should at least have had to fight their way in at some point. But to their surprise they found the Temple of Woe completely deserted. It made no sense. It also had the Colonel and the Saiyan spooked. But they at least knew the Goa'uld. The girl didn't. She was spooked over something else and that worried Jonas far more.

Legend had it that She Who Protects was given the power of foresight. Prophetic dreams that would forewarn them of dangers to come. And Jonas had noticed that she did seem to be suffering from nightmares. What if her nightmares were the reason that she had come along? After all, it was her decision, not Belmovekk's.

"Hey Jonas," O'Neill's voice called out, "Come over here."

Jonas looked around and saw the colonel, together with the Saiyan, the Tok'ra and Sam, all standing in front of a large mural.

"Have a look at this," the Tok'ra said as Jonas walked over, "I think this panel tells us how the Slayer can destroy this weapon."

Jonas leaned over so he could read the text. Which was completely written in the Ancient language.

"And so it came to pass that an evil sorcerer, can't read his name, set out to create a weapon with which to destroy the universe," Jonas read aloud, "the, unknown. But, unknown, had to know his weapon would work so, unknown, built a prototype. When he had no more need of it he sent it to this galaxy and let it loose. Great was the devastation the, unknown, wrought until the Kaioshin came and united four races into the Last Great Alliance, The last of the Ancients, the Asgard, the Nox and the Furlings. Only their combined power and the Kaioshin's leadership was able to stop the, unknown. This Final Great Alliance however was unable however to destroy the, unknown, for a weapon wrought with mystical energy can only be destroyed by a warrior imbued with mystical energy. The Kaioshin implored Those Who Watch to lend him the Chosen One, Whose Gift is Death, but they refused. So the Kaioshin and the Final Great Alliance set out to guard the, unknown. The Kaioshin provided the knowledge how to guard the, unknown, and the Ancients and Asgard, set forth to build this house of guard to safe keep the, unknown. Guard it well, for if the, unknown, were ever to be released again, only one like the Chosen One, Whose Gift is Death, can destroy the, unknown."

After having read the text Jonas turned his head and looked at the Tok'ra.

"It doesn't really tell us how she could destroy this weapon," he said, "only that she could do it."

"To bad Anubis already got what he wanted," Sam remarked, "We're too late."

"I'm not so sure," the Tok'ra interjected, "just look at the chaos here. Whatever Anubis unearthed, it either didn't go as planned or he was interrupted."

"Maybe Yi caught hold of his plans," Colonel O'Neill suggested, then he shrugged, "Could explain why that Ha'tak is floating up there like a derelict. Nah, that would be too fortunate. It has to be something bad. For us that is."

Jonas turned his head around and looked towards Buffy.

"Miss Summers, this panel here talks about you. It says that….., " he said, then he came to a sudden stop.

"What?" the Slayer called back.

But as she looked at him she failed to notice the strange pink creature perched on top of the large stone block. It was small, like a twelve year old child, but it looked nothing like a twelve year old. Instead it looked more like a small predator, about to strike.

Something of the fear that showed in his face must have tipped the Slayer off because she looked up. What happened next Jonas should never have been able to see, because it happened so fast. But somehow time seemed to slow down as everything happened in slow motion.

And yet it still happened like it was being fast forwarded.

Suddenly the creature stood in front of Jonas, grinning maliciously and giving him a first row seat on the creature. It's ink black eyes, the strange tail like appendage growing from its head, the black M-like symbol on its forehead. It was then that he understood its name.

"The Majin!" he yelled in slow motion.

Next thing he knew he was flying through the air. As he did he could see in slo-mo vision that the Majin knocked the rest of his team aside to attack the Saiyan. A glowing energy field already surrounded the Saiyan but it wasn't enough as the Majin delivered a blow to the Saiyan's stomach with so much force the panel behind him shattered as well. As the Saiyan buckled the Majin reached for the Saiyan's neck and gripped him in a choke hold.

Just when it seemed like the monster would snap his neck the Slayer entered the fray, surrounded by a white field of glowing energy. She delivered a drop kick to the Majin's head that caused the thing to let go of the Saiyan and fall back, destroying even more of the precious panels.

But there was no rest for her as the monster launched itself at her and the two began to fight all over the Temple of Woe. Meanwhile Jonas was about to come to a sudden hard stop against something very painful when he felt a pair of hands take hold of him.

"Teal'c?" Jonas said as he saw who his rescuer was.

"Come, we must see to the others," the Jaffa said as he put him down and reached for his ridiculously large gun.

"Aren't you going to shoot at that thing?" Jonas asked as he pointed towards the fighting creature.

"They are in a league of their own," the Jaffa said stoically and moved towards the others. For a moment Jonas remained transfixed as he watched Buffy and the Majin fight. It was going at a pace so fast he shouldn't even be able to see it. But somehow he still could. A delicate ballet of deadly movements.

It was at that point that Jonas finally realized why the legend of the Slayer had made such a lasting impression in so many cultures, including his own. And why he didn't envy those girls being 'Chosen.' Death was indeed their gift. To deal out death and to die at an early age.

"Quinn," Teal'c's voice called out, shaking Jonas from his reverie. Jonas ran over towards the others, for the first time noticing how great the distance was the Majin had thrown him.

"How are they?" Jonas asked as he joined Teal'c attending his team members, all groaning with pain.

"They will be fine," the Jaffa said and pointed towards the Saiyan, "go help Satiya. We need him for Buffy Summers will not last long."

Jonas glanced at the fighting Slayer. She seemed to be holding her own quite well so how could Teal'c say that?

But then again Teal'c had trained under the Saiyan, as a trained fighter he might have insights that a layperson like him would lack. So Jonas moved over to the Saiyan who lay on his side on the ground, resting on one arm.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he knelt next to the Saiyan. It was only then that to his surprise he noticed that the man had a tail. What had seemed like a brown furry belt around his waist turned out to be an actual tail.

"Mmmmmm," the Saiyan moaned, sounding quite groggy. Normally Jonas would have let someone who was hit as badly as he had been have plenty of time to recover. But there was no time if Teal'c was to be believed.

"You must get up, Saiyan," Jonas spoke softly but firmly, "Buffy Summers is fighting this thing and according to Teal'c she will lose."

"Buffy?" the Saiyan said concerned as he looked up. Which again confirmed what they suspected, the man was absolutely fixated on the girl.

"Yes," Jonas continued, "she's fighting the Majin and unless you get up and intervene it will destroy her."

It was a terrible thing to say to a person but he had to motivate the Saiyan somehow. Better to say sorry afterwards then never be able to say sorry ever again.

And it was working as the Saiyan desperately tried to get up now, ignoring his own pain. It was then that he caught his first glimpse of the Slayer fighting the Majin.

"Buffy!" he exclaimed as he reached for Jonas to steady himself. Unfortunately Jonas was anything but a steady grip for an overpowered Saiyan to steady himself on. So all that he accomplished was that he dragged Jonas down with him, causing the Kelownian to fall on top of him.

As Jonas fell on top of Belmovekk the monster took hold of Buffy's wrists and grinned in her face.

"I still got legs you know," Buffy said defiantly as she kicked him in the groin. Naturally however there was nothing there for her to cause him pain with. She then tried to head butt him but to no avail either. It was however the moment the thing had waited for, as the appendage on his head, so far a useless thing, swung around and wrapped itself around her neck, squeezing the life out of her.

As it did the monster rose into the air, carrying the both of them. High above a dark circle began to form which then erupted like a Stargate in a geyser of dark energy. Then it retreated and formed a black event horizon. Taking Buffy with him the Majin flew through this portal. As soon as they disappeared into its even horizon the portal closed behind them and an eerie calm settled over the Temple of Woe.

Then came a heartbreaking wail.

"BUFFY!"


	9. Chapter Six

**Chapter 6**

' **Killing in the Name'**

x

x

 _How long?_

 _Not long._

 _For what you reap_

 _Is what you sow!_

 **Wake Up**

Rage Against the Machine, album: Rage Against the Machine

Lyrics by Zack de la Rocha

x

x

AN: _Nothing much to say I guess. Just the same as all the rest_.

x

* * *

x

A day minus 249

x

"BUFFY!"

The silence in the Temple of Woe was pierced by a heartbreaking wail.

Helped by Teal'c O'Neill limped over to the Saiyan's side.

"Look, man," he said, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"Buffy," Belmovekk wailed softly, "this cannot be."

"I don't think he's much use to us now," Jacob said as he joined Jack's side.

"What a mess," O'Neill said shaking his head as he looked around the temple.

"What was that thing?" Sam said as she steadied herself.

"My guess, we just met the weapon, Sam," Jacob said as he helped his daughter get up, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, dad," Sam smiled at her father.

"That was the weapon?" Jack said dispirited, "Oh, this is getting better and better. That means Anubis got something that can slap Saiyans around like redheaded stepchildren. He's gonna sick that thing on Earth in no time."

"It was a trap," Jonas said as he picked up some of the rubble of the ruined panels, "Whatever the Majin is, he was waiting for us. It specifically attacked Belmovekk. If the Slayer hadn't come along he'd be dead right now."

"But that would mean Anubis knew we would be coming?" the Tok'ra said surprised.

"He must have leaked the information to you guys that he was after this thing," O'Neill said, "so he could lure us here."

"It doesn't make sense though," Sam said and pointed towards Belmovekk, "There was no way he would know we would bring him along."

"We brought him once before," Jack countered, "when that Goa'uld was still inside him it used his body to kill Anubis. He knows."

"Yeah, but only the girl could destroy this thing, sir. And he couldn't have known she even existed," Sam said, " _we_ didn't even know till dad began to connect the dots."

Jonas stopped staring at the rubble and turned around.

"This wasn't a trap to kill him," he said as he pointed towards the catatonic Saiyan, "This was a trap to get her."

"But how would Anubis know she even existed?" Sam said.

"Who knows?" Jonas shrugged, then he pointed to the place where the Majin and the Slayer had disappeared, "but she knew. Kelownian folklore has it that She Who Protects is blessed with the gift of foresight. She is supposed to have prophetic dreams. And for the past two nights Buffy Summers had nightmares. It was her idea to come along, against his wishes. I think she dreamed of what would happen and saw her stepfather get killed. So she came along and saved his life. But he was the bait to lure her here and now they have her."

"That's thin, Jonas," O'Neill said giving him a stern look, "wafer thin. You're using ancient myths going back thousands of years."

"Sometimes in the absence of real evidence, ancient myths are all you have to go by," Jonas said confidently, "Daniel Jackson has convinced the SGC to undertake several missions on the basis of just that."

O'Neill wanted to say something when Sam spoke up.

"He's right, Jack," she said, "We found the Asgard purely on the basis of Daniel's theory that our own ancient myths mentioned protective Gods just as much as Gods based on the Goa'uld."

"The gift of prophetic dreams has been documented in at least six other cultures, Jack," Selmak interjected.

"Fine," O'Neill said as he threw his hands in the air, "So she knew and this was all a lure to bring her here. What does Anubis need a Slayer for?"

As soon as he said it the answer dawned on him.

"Some say to ask the question is to answer it," the Tok'ra said with a slight smile.

"This is bad," Jack muttered as he kicked against a piece of rubble.

Meanwhile Teal'c kneeled next to Belmovekk, who was wailing quietly on the floor.

"Satiya?" he asked worried, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Belmovekk didn't respond, just withdrawn in himself in grief.

"Just leave him, Teal'c," Jack said, "give him time."

"I just cannot leave him like this, O'Neill," the Jaffa said looking up, "He is Satiya, my teacher. I could neither leave him like this then I could Master Bra'tac."

"He's also sitting in the Nile. There is….," Jack tried to say, then he stopped as he saw something strange happening, "Why do I see stones rising?"

To his surprise small pieces of stone and rubble slowly began to float into the air around him. Causing O'Neill to look at the Tok'ra.

"What's happening now, Jacob? Don't tell me this place is going to explode?"

"I,,,, I'm not sure, Jack," Jacob said with his Tok'ra voice, "There's no mention of a self destruct. But maybe I should teleport us back to the…."

"There is no self destruct, O'Neill," Teal'c said as he took a step backwards, "It is him. Satiya. He is gathering in his power."

"What? Him?" O'Neill exclaimed as he looked at the crumpled Saiyan on the floor, then he looked around him as more and more dirt began to rise into the air at an ever growing pace.

Then a wind began to blow through the Temple of Woe, steadily increasing in strength, blowing away even more rubble. And then the Saiyan began to stir and pulled himself together, slowly getting up.

"I'm getting this on camera," Sam said as she reached for her digital camera.

"Satiya?" Teal'c asked concerned, "Are you…"

Belmovekk ignored the Jaffa and walked to the center of the temple. On his way white flames of chi erupted around him, further increasing the now strong winds blowing through the temple. Meanwhile the earth began to tremble.

"What the hell is he doing?" O'Neill yelled as he steadied himself against Teal'c who seemed unperturbed by the trembling earth and blowing winds.

"My guess, he's going to do something stupid, sir," Sam called out, still filming.

"We are about to see his true face, O'Neill," Teal'c said stoically, "we are truly privileged."

"Jack," the Tok'ra yelled, "It might be better to get out of….."

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

The Saiyan let out a massive yell, then for a tiny moment everything stopped. Only to get even worse as a massive shockwave of golden chi sped through the temple with so much force it blew away the temple's roof and most of the walls. It would have blown away SG-1 if it weren't for the quick shield that Teal'c had erected to keep them safe.

And then it was quiet again. Except a for a soft eerie noise, like that of crickets chirping.

"What the….." O'Neill said after it was all over. He felt like he had stood in the center of a nuclear explosion as most of the Temple of Woe was now in ruins around him. And at ground center the Saiyan stood. Only he had changed.

Gone was his black hair, instead his hair had turned to a yellow golden color, standing upright, waving gently as of some unseen ventilator from inside his skull was blowing the hair upward. An aura of golden chi blazed around the Saiyan.

"I thought Saiyans turned into giant apes?" Jonas said amazed..

"I guess we were wrong," Sam replied, still filming.

Then the Saiyan raised his fist into the air and began to yell.

"Hear me, Anubis! I am Belmovekk, son of Rabar and disciple of Aldur, Child of Grey. I swear this in the names of my dead family and my Lord and master. I hereby declare a blood oath against you and your allies. I Belmovekk, son of Rabar, will not rest until you restore her back to me, sound of body and mind! I will not rest until I have her back. If need be I will destroy this Galaxy and the next if I must. And I _will_ find you! So say I, Belmovekk, born on planet Vegeta, son of Rabar, Disciple of Aldur, Child of Grey."

The speech was delivered with so much force that for a moment O'Neill expected a reply to come from the heavens. Of course, nothing happened.

So he stepped forward and approached the Saiyan.

"Look, Belmovekk, I know some bad shit happened to you, but you can't just…."

The Saiyan turned around and glared at O'Neill.

It were the eyes.

They had changed from their normal black irises into the coldest shade of blue green. And looking into those was like looking into the heart of a raging tornado.

"I will do this _my_ way, commander," Belmovekk said coldly. Then he launched himself into the air with lightning speed and flew away, a sonic boom of him breaking the sound barrier his last reply.

"Now we're really up shit creek," O'Neill muttered, "War has just been declared."

x

* * *

x

"Can't undo what you did," Xander said shaking his head, "you can never do that."

"Still….," Giles said as he took off his glasses and began to polish them, "'spose there's one thing you could do."

"What?" Faith said hopeful, "I'll do it!"

Buffy put up her arm and pointed behind Faith.

"Take care of Him."

Faith turned around to the other side of the room, where all the medical carts where, all centred around a large table. On the table lay something, covered underneath a white cloth. Like a corpse on a medical examiner's table. Then the corpse or whatever it was sat up straight and began to pull the white cloth off itself. And whatever it was she had a feeling she wasn't going to like what was underneath the cover.

And she didn't.

What sat up straight was part man, part demon, part cyborg. Like someone had taken a random collection of body parts and had a fun afternoon re-assembling. Hello, Frankenstein called, he wants his monster back.

"Do not listen to them, Faith," the creature said in a deep calm voice, "for they lie."

"Who are you?" Faith asked, "hell, what are you?"

"I am you," the creature said.

"That's no answer," Faith countered.

"It is the truth," the creature replied, then he reached out his hand, "Come to me, Faith, they lie. They're using you. You're just a weapon to them. Something to u…."

A long snakelike appendage wrapped itself around her neck and began to squeeze the life out of her.

"Hello Faith," the effeminate voice spoke again before it was lights out again for Faith.

Then she gasped for air and woke up.

GASP!

Putting her hand on her chest Faith gasped for air.

"You alright?"

Faith looked around and saw she was sitting in the rental car, just outside their motel room. Inside their room Xander and Red were making their final preparations to assault Commando Central. Outside their room and unfortunately outside their car Spike was looking in.

"I don't mind you taking a nap, love, but could you scoot over?" the vampire said impatiently, "I'm kinda out in the open here."

"What do you care?" Faith asked, "You're sun proof now. Besides, its night."

"Hello, evil commandos out here," Spike said making shooing motions, "Now move over, Slayer Junior, the less they see of me the better."

"I should have let Jolly Green wring your neck," Faith muttered as she moved over.

x

* * *

x

As he landed next to this infernal planet's Stargate, Belmovekk wasted no time in dialing up the address he had in mind on the dial home device. As he did this his mirror image in Goa'uld armor walked into view and put his hands on the DHD.

"What are you doing?" Amūn said angry, "Don't you know that…"

Belmovekk looked up and peered with his cold blue green eyes at the Goa'uld specter.

"Do not trifle with me, worm," he said coldly, then he pressed the final symbol and the gate sprang into life. As the event horizon stabilized the Saiyan walked towards it.

"You're making a terrible mistake," Amūn called after him.

"I am used to that," Belmovekk replied without looking back, then he disappeared into the gate.

As he traveled through the gate he came to a sudden stop at the other end. Against a shield similar to the one used by the SGC. Only this one, like the SGC's, wasn't meant to stop a fully powered Super Saiyan.

As he burst through the shield, concentrated fire erupted upon from heavy staff gun batteries. For a full minute he stood there as the blasts hit upon his chi, without much result. He was about to make a move to put an end to it when the shooting stopped. As silence set in a voice called out.

"Is it you, Disciple of Aldur?" a voice asked reverently

"I am that one," Belmovekk replied.

Amidst the batteries of staff gun cannons that were concentrated around the Stargate came the sounds of people dropping on their knees, then a lone Jaffa officer emerged and approached him.

"I thought it was you," the Jaffa said as he also dropped onto a knee, "I served on the Pride of Amūn when you emerged from Amūn's inner sanctum."

"Rise, Sons of Priya," Belmovekk said as he gestured for the Jaffa to rise again, "I have come to you in my hour of need."

"Just give us the word and we shall fight alongside you," the Jaffa said solemnly. More Jaffa emerged from their positions, wanting to see the Disciple of Aldur up close.

"Your offer is heartening, Son of Priya," Belmovekk said, "but this is a quest I must perform on my own. All I require of you is information."

"What kind of information, Disciple of Aldur?"

"I need the gate addresses of every known planet and hideout that belongs to Anubis and his allies," the Saiyan asked deadpan.

"We do not know where Anubis resides," the Jaffa officer said, sounding a little disappointing that he couldn't be of more use, "He hides his whereabouts very well."

"Then just tell me what you do know."

x

* * *

x

"After you."

"My, Xander, how nobely," Willow cooed as Xander held open the man cover hole for her.

"I have my moments," Xander smiled. They were on the Cleveland State University campus ground, milled around a man hole cover giving entrance to the sewer system and hopefully to the underground Initiative base as well.

"You're next, Murphy," Xander said to Spike after Willow had gone under. Spike shot him an angry glare, then he just jumped into the hole, just like Faith had done previously.

"That's one way to do it," Xander shrugged as he climbed down the hole, then he reached for the cover and closed the hole after him.

Down in the sewer he found the others. That is, Willow and Spike. There was no sign of Faith though.

"What kept you so long, Droopy," Spike said leaning contemptuously against the sewer wall. Willow was holding up her left hand, above which a red orb floated, illuminating the sewer tunnel.

"Where's Faith," Xander asked as looked in both directions of the sewer tunnel.

"She went ahead," Willow said. There was some annoyance in her voice at the headstrong behavior of the Dark Slayer. Going ahead instead of waiting for the team. Xander tried to get a bearing of where she was. But the Cleveland Hellmouth was near. Unlike Sunnydale above the ground you hardly noticed it, but like Sunnydale underground the effect was stronger. And like Sunnydale it made using chi sense next to impossible. Faith would have to be found the old fashioned way

"Let's go then," Xander said resolutely as he pulled forth the map Willow had made and began to walk in the direction of the Initiative. And where hopefully Faith had gone as well.

They had barely made it into the next tunnel when Spike spoke up.

"Something's coming," he said nervously.

"Don't be ab…." Xander tried to say, then he noticed it too and gestured for them to go back they way they had come.

They just barely made it back into the tunnel when a group of figures came by. They were a mix of humans and demons armed with futuristic guns. Both however carried all sorts of futuristic electronic implants on their bodies and faces. Both humans and demons carried two identical devices on their heads though. One was a laser eye piece that emitted a laser beam illuminating whatever they were looking at. And which made them look like the Borg from Star Trek. The other was a small box like device nestling in the back of their head, just where the neck met the skull. Except for a small LED blinking regularly it didn't seem to do anything.

As they passed one of these cybernetically enhanced soldiers paused and looked into the tunnel the three were hiding. He should have seen them but the soldier stopped looking and moved on. After the little parade had passed Xander moved towards the other tunnel and carefully peeked around the corner.

"Why didn't they see us?" Spike asked nervously, "They should have seen us."

Xander gestured Spike to follow and the two stepped into the other tunnel and looked back. Despite that she was still there Willow couldn't be seen.

"She's invisible?" Spike said surprised but Xander shook his head.

"When they looked they didn't see the tunnel with us in it, they saw an illusion of that tunnel instead," Xander said, then he pointed to a rat scurrying in the background, "nice touch with that rat, Will."

Like a shower curtain being shoved aside the illusion vanished and Willow became visible again.

"Thanks," she said panting a little, "Best I could do at such short notice."

"Now that we know that they're patrolling it might be a good idea if you were to surround us with such an illusion," Xander suggested.

"But Xander," Willow protested, "It's so exhausting. I won't be able to do anything else."

"Leave the anything else to us," Xander smiled, then he began to pout, "Please? Pretty please with cherries on top?"

"Alright," Willow said giving in.

"I can't believe me and Dru lost to you lot," Spike snorted derisively as he watched the two Scoobies, but Xander just gave him a smirk.

"Just switch on your infrared, Murphy."

x

* * *

x

A dozen Jaffa stood guard outside the Cha'pa'ai.

Not that it was considered necessary. For thousands of years the Cha'pa'ai network was considered neutral territory. A means for travel between worlds. But never a weapon. At least between Systemlords. Attacks had been carried out through the Cha'pa'ai network, most recently by the renegade Sons of Priya and their fast attack vehicles.

So at least a modicum of security had to be maintained. But most Systemlords still thought themselves invincible on their home planets. And an invasion through the Cha'pa'ai still meant that the attacker had to come through a single choke point of limited duration. This meant that if a defender stationed ample forces close enough to the Cha'pa'ai any invasion could be contained and eventually defeated. This was why Systemlords preferred to invade each other with a Big Honkin' Spacefleet rather then use the Cha'pa'ai network.

The world of A'segai was the home world of the Goa'uld Systemlord Ketsch'wan. A Goa'uld of relative importance. While Ketsch'wan's territory wasn't overly large, he did have the advantage that is contained several densely populated industrial planets, chief of which was A'segai. That meant he had the industrial base to build and maintain a large fleet. And that made Ketsch'wan a highly sought aft ally in the ever shifting jostle of power that was Systemlord politics.

And since Ketsch'wan had a Big Honkin' Spacefleet he felt more then secure in his ability to repel any invasion.

So when the Chappa'ai sprang into life and symbols activated from off world the guards weren't overly worried. They manned the two staff cannons trained at the gate and aimed their own staff guns as the gate erupted and then formed into a stable wormhole.

A single man walked through the Chappa'ai, glowing in a yellow field of energy. Okay, that was unexpected, the detachment commander thought. But a single man could hardly be that great a threat.

"Identify yourself and state your purpose!" he asked, his staff weapon trained at the stranger.

"Is this A'segai?" the stranger asked as he consulted a small hand held device, "home to the Goa'uld Ketsch'wan?"

"It is," the detachment commander said, then he restated his own question, "Identify yourself and state your purpose!"

"I am Belmovekk, of house Movekk" the stranger said as he held out his arms and the earth began to tremble, dirt rising into the air, "I am the son of Rabar, born on planet Vegeta. Disciple of Aldur and Child of Grey. My purpose is to return that which was stolen from me. And since the insignificant worm that calls himself your God has allied himself with Anubis, he must now pay for Anubis' sins."

Before the Jaffa could respond the stranger held up two fingers. Then their world turned to white as lethal energy enveloped them all..

x

* * *

x

Meanwhile Faith had ventured a little ahead of the rest. Okay, she had probably ventured a lot ahead. She wasn't even sure why, just that she felt she had to. These tunnels seemed so familiar to her dream that it scared her. Bad shit was surely going to hit the fan here at some point.

She arrived at an underground junction and for a moment she hesitated. There were three ways to proceed from here and she was uncertain as to which to take. Maybe she should wait for the others?

It was then she took the tunnel to the right. It was like she felt it was the right one. Like something had called inside her mind and said 'come this way'. It should have worried her, but Faith had a fatalistic streak in her. Who was she to argue with fate?

x

* * *

x

It was a peculiarity of the ring transporter system that in order for it to work you either had to have a receiving station at the other end or a ship relatively nearby. And while Ketsch'wan maintained a large fleet of Ha'tak battle cruisers, not even a single one, including the more nimble Tel'tak transports, could make it close enough to Ketsch'wan's palace complex without being destroyed by this unknown invader.

So far the invader had destroyed most of the planets major cities and military bases before turning to the capital. While he had swiftly destroyed the planet's cities he was slowly but methodically taking his time to make its way to the living God's palace complex.

As battalion upon battalion of loyal Jaffa sacrificed themselves in the name of their living God, Ketschwan's First Prime desperately tried to give meaning to their sacrifice, finding a way to save Ketsch'wan's life. So far the invader had taken out six Ha'taks and untold Tel'taks trying to take their living God to safety. After seeing his piecemeal approaches go to waste Ketsch'wan's Fleet First was now trying to combine as much forces as were left in system and make a combined move for the planet. But judging by the invader's power and progress Ketschwan's First Prime didn't think he was going to make it. Not in time at least.

Another explosion rocked the palace complex and Ketsch'wan was pacing nervously close by. His First Prime on the other hand became ever more cool and calculating with every disaster.

"What's going on?" Ketsch'wan said nervously, "What's taking D'adario so long?"

"So far D'adario has lost over half of his ships," the First replied calmly, "He has to gather what's left or he will not stand a chance. The invader can detect…."

"I do not care if D'adario has to wait for more ships," Ketsch'wan interjected angry, "I want him to come and rescue me _now_!"

It was a stupid order and Ketsch'wan's First Prime would be in dereliction of his duty if he didn't point it out.

"If D'adario were to come here prematurely and lose his ships you will lose your only chance of escape, my lord."

Another explosion rocked the palace, closer then before.

"NOW!" Ketsch'wan thundered and the First Prime bowed.

"Yes, my Lord," he said and gave the Fleet First his orders. It was stupid but he could understand his Lord's desire.

"He has breached the compound," a voice yelled through the speaker system, "he has breached the… fight! Fight in your Lord's name….."

Static followed after the transmission suddenly ended. The First studied from where the transmission had come. It was close. Now he feared D'adario wouldn't even make it in time with his current attempt.

More explosions followed, ever more close to the command room. Then a large beam shot into the sky and the First noticed on his command holograms that D'adario had just lost another Ha'tak. Another beam followed. And another. And another. And another. And another.

And after that whatever D'adario could still muster no longer mattered. The brave Fleet First had died in the service of his living God. To bad Ketsch'wan would soon follow he feared.

Then the command room shook as another explosion rocked the entire palace complex.

"In Ketsch'wan's name, he's here!" another voice cried out, "Stand your grou…

Next the sounds of people dying could be heard without the help of the command and control systems.

Ketsch'wan's First Prime left his position on the command chair and reached for his staff weapon. Then he turned around and faced his command staff.

"Jaffa, the time has come to fight and die for your God. Make Ketsch'wan proud," the First Prime said, then he turned around and gripped his staff weapon with both hands, "JAFFA KREE!"

"JAFFA KREE!" his command staff replied as they raised their staff weapons and zat'ni'kitels

BANG!

The door that secured the command room flew into the room and came to a sudden stop against a wall.

THUD!

As silence returned to the control room it was broken by a strange chirping sound. Then the invader stepped through the door.

"Stand your ground, Jaffa," the First Prime said as he trained his weapon on the invader and fired.

But like his dead battalions before him his staff weapon fire came to naught against the golden flames that surrounded the invader. Shooting energy blasts from his hand the invader picked off one Jaffa after the other until the only ones that were left were the First Prime and his living God, cowering behind his personal energy shield.

Seeing that his staff weapon was useless against the invader as a gun the First Prime tried using it as a club but the weapon just broke in two on the invaders golden flames. Then the invader flicked his hand and sent the First Prime crashing into a wall, a golden band of energy around his neck pinning him against the wall.

Next the invader casually walked up to the Goa'uld.

"How…., how…, how dare you," the Goa'uld said as he retreated backwards until he had no more space to retreat to, "I am a God, I…, I am Ketsch'wan, God of War, ruler of this planet, a Systemlord…, no….."

When the invader stood in front of Ketsch'wan's shield he put a finger on it. The shield reacted to his touch but the invader pressed on. The shield gave signs of being under ever increasing stress, until it began to discolour, glare brightly and then it vanished.

"A God you say?" the invader said coldly, "let's see about your Godhood."

The invader shoved his hand into Ketsch'wan's chest, then he reached inside until the back of Ketsch'wan's lower neck began to bulge. Then he withdrew his hand and emerged with something that was snakelike and writhing in his grip.

"A God? You look nothing like a God," the invader said and turned to the First Prime as behind him Ketsch'wan's host buckled up and died, "Behold the true face of your God, Jaffa. Your 'God' here has sought an alliance to Anubis and sworn fealty to him. As his First Prime I want you to deliver a message to Anubis."

"I am Belmovekk, son of Rabar of house Movekk, born on Vegetasei. I am the Disciple of Aldur, Child of Grey. I want Anubis to return that which he has stolen from me, sound of body and mind. Until he does I will seek out each and every one of his Goa'uld allies and destroy them like I have done to this little worm."

Upon saying the word worm the invader crushed the Goa'uld serpent that was in his hand. Then he incinerated what was left of his remains until nothing was left

"I will neither stop nor rest until that which was stolen from me is returned. I will destroy every Goa'uld and all their Jaffa if need be. And I will follow Anubis wherever he will go. I will raze this Galaxy if I have to."

Then the invader blasted a hole in the wall giving the First Prime a glimpse of the outside world, where the capital city was burning. The invader put up two fingers, next thing the world outside exploded in a giant white blinding flash. Then the First's sight turned to white as well

x

* * *

x

 _This way._

Following her almost inaudible guide Faith made her way through the underground maze until she stood underneath a flickering emergency light. She was no longer in the sewer system but instead in what looked like an underground bunker system. Arrows and notifications indicated directions to various stations that meant nothing to her. All that mattered to her was the door that was in front of her.

It was a solid blast proof door, built in a day when World War Three was expected at any time. And it looked exactly like the door Faith remembered in her dreams. Only this time the door was intact, not shoved aside like a shower curtain.

Okay, how to gain entry?

Next to the door was a small touch screen, probably so you could enter an entrance code.

"Well, you wanted me to come," she said out loud, "might as well channel me the entrance code. I'm listening?"

Nothing happened.

"Course not," Faith muttered aggrieved, "That would have been too easy."

Faith contemplated using her chi on the touch screen in order to short circuit the door. But that would require a more detailed knowledge of electronics that she lacked. Hell, it required knowledge of any kind of electronics which she lacked.

In the end there was no denying both the classics _and_ your heritage. So she resorted to them both. Putting her fingers on the door's edge she began to exert strength. A little at first, no point in ripping half the place apart. But that wasn't enough, as the door began to tremble and shake, but wasn't coming unhinged.

"Fuck this," Faith said and put some more into it.

A lot more.

Shoving the door aside like a shower curtain she crumbled the mass of metal and slammed it against the touch screen.

"Oops?" Faith said as she waited for the alarm to go off.

But it didn't.

"You know, just giving me the code would have been easier," Faith said looking upwards. Then she went inside.

x

* * *

x

He wasn't sure but when his vision returned to him First Prime Za'an could have sworn he heard voices calling his name.

It turned out it was real

"First Za'an, First Za'an!"

As the First Prime opened his eyes he saw a party of Jaffa standing around him as he lay on the ground amidst the rubble that used to be Ketsch'wan's palace. As his vision returned to him he recognized one of the Jaffa surrounding him as the captain of one of his Lord's Ha'taks. One that had been on duty elsewhere.

"Where is Ketsch'wan," the captain asked worried, "We cannot find him. Where could he be?"

The First Prime sat up straight, then he looked around him. There was literally not much left of Ketsch'wan's palace. Nor of anything else for that matter. As far as he could see there was nothing left to see. Just a scorched plain with a few small boulders as far as the eye could see. Above him the skies were covered in dark clouds crackling with thunder as debris and energy had the planet's atmosphere go crazy.

"Our Lord is dead. The invader killed him and left nothing for the sarcophagus to restore," the First Prime said as he let his head down for a moment, then he looked up again, "Are there any other survivors.?"

The ship's captain shook his head.

"You are the first survivor we found, First Za'an," he said, "And most likely the only survivor. We watched the planet burn from space. There is not a soul left on this planet."

"Why did he leave you alive, First Za'an?" another Jaffa asked, "why kill our lord and master and leave you alive?"

As the others helped him back on his feet First Prime Za'an surveyed his direct surroundings. Judging by the devastation by all logic he should have been dead as well. It meant only one thing.

"It is obvious, Jaffa," the First Prime said, "I am to be his messenger."

x

* * *

x

"I don't like this."

Xander looked over his shoulder at the complaining vampire.

"For Kami's sake, Murphy, you're like a broken record or something," he sighed, "We get it, you don't like being here. Well, guess what, neither do I. So how about a little less complaining and a lot more shut the fuck up?"

"I don't see what the problem is," Willow added, "I mean, look at you, Spike. They made you into a super weapon. If anything you should be able to kick their ass."

"That's not what I'm worried about, Red," Spike muttered, "I'm worried that they might have something that they can use against me."

"A kill switch?" Xander suggested hopeful, "At the very least a mute button? If only we were so lucky. Hello, what have we here?"

The three of them emerged into a tunnel, where at the end of which a heavy blast door lay crumpled towards the wall.

"She really doesn't do subtle, does she?" Spike remarked.

"You can say that again," Xander nodded as he examined the wreckage.

"Stupid girl," Willow muttered annoyed, "I'm amazed she didn't trigger the alarm."

"She'll get us all killed," Spike echoed.

"Well, technically you're already dead so you don't matter, and she didn't trigger the alarm," Xander said, "Let's go. She might need us."

The trio pressed on and entered the Initiative complex. Occasionally they came upon a few doors which lead nowhere, mostly storage rooms. It went on for a while until they came upon another set of heavily armored blast doors. There was no other way around them. These weren't damaged but a dead soldier lay on the ground.

"Oh no," Willow gasped in horror as she saw the dead soldier, "Did she just kill another….."

"What's the damn problem?" Spike said, "It's just a dead soldier. They're the bad guys, remember?"

"They're still human, Spike," Willow countered, "we don't kill humans."

"Oh for God sakes, you bint," Spike exclaimed as he rolled his eyes, "what's there to understand? They're the bad guys, we're the good guys, well, at least you are. What does it matter what kind of bad guys they are? Are you going to tell me that when a vamp attacks you, you kill him, but when a human does you don't? That's racist, you know!"

"Spike who suddenly got his ACLU card, it's the end of the world as we know it," Xander said shaking his head, then he knelt next to the soldier, "Hmm, maybe Faith knew something we didn't."

"What do you mean?" Willow asked, upon which Xander turned the dead soldier on his side and pointed to a slash on the man's throat. It looked like a deep slash to rip a man's throat. Yet somehow there was scar tissue growing over it, like the guy had lived on.

"No man survives that and lives to tell the tale," Xander said, then he looked at Spike, "Not unless he joins the living undead."

"He can't be a vampire," Spike said, "only a stake through the heart kills a vampire."

"Or sunlight or a decapitation," Xander added, "this guy….. "

Xander began to open the soldier's uniform. As he did various electronic implants became visible. Then he turned the soldier over and looked at his back. There was the same implant at the back of his neck as they had seen earlier on the patrols they had encountered in the sewers. Only on this soldier the small blinking LED blinked no more.

"Sweet mother of Jesus!," Xander hissed impressed, "it's the Night of the Living Dead. No I take that back. It's resistance is futile. You will be assimilated!"

"What are you banging on about, Droopy?" Spike asked flabbergasted.

"It amazes me that a guy can watch so much TV and not pick up one of the top 100 TV catchphrases," Xander said shaking his head.

"Maybe you're not so off the mark the first time, Xander," Willow said, "I mean, the Borg get assimilated alive, this guy died, was resurrected with technology and then got killed again. That's more George Romero then Star Trek."

"You have a point," Xander admitted.

"I can't believe I lost to you geeks so often," Spike said shaking his head.

Xander got up and studied the control panel next to the doors.

"I wonder how she got through," he mused.

"Maybe she forced him too," Spike said.

"He's an undead techno-zombie," Willow said pointing to the dead soldier, "If anything he should have been hacked. You don't threaten that which is already dead."

"You guys threaten me all the time," Spike snorted.

"That's because you come with a very annoying personality," Xander said, "You come with buttons to push. Zombies don't have personality, they're just mindless things."

"You don't know that," Spike said pointing to the dead soldier, "This is not some stupid zombie movie. For all they did to me, it's still me. And for all you know there could have been something left of him inside there as well."

"He has a point," Willow echoed. Xander looked at the corpse again.

"I'll doubt his last words were here's the code, now please kill me," he said, "Most likely his implants allowed him to ignore pain and since Faith's never been the one to play complicated mind games I'd say she had to resort to something else. I wonder what she did?"

"Why don't you let me?" Willow said as she pulled her laptop from her backpack, "There's the Faith way and there's the subtle way."

"Go ahead," Xander said as he stepped aside from the access panel.

Willow turned her laptop on and connected a cable to her laptop. Then she stuck the cable to the touch screen.

"How can you connect that thing when there's no way to connect it?" Spike asked curious.

"Relax," Willow smiled, "It's a kind of magic."

"Why don't I feel relaxed," Spike muttered and without thinking reached for his cigarettes. Which he had left in the car on Xander's insistence.

"Did they install a whine chip into your head as well?" Xander asked deadpan, "You seem more whinier then ever."

"Ha ha," Spike said annoyed, "Says the guy who needs a humor chip."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with my sense of humor," Xander countered.

"Just that it ain't funny," Spike grinned as he squatted down against the wall, "Wake me up when Red's finished.

No sooner had Spike said so as the door whooshed open.

"All done," Willow grinned victoriously as she put her laptop back into her backpack.

'You're the greatest, Will," Xander smiled, "I'd kiss you if it wouldn't make your girlfriend jealous."

"Oh, it takes more then just a man kiss to throw Tara off balance," Willow smiled back, "After all, she's used to Belmo."

"Indeed," Xander said, then he give her a quick kiss on the cheek, "Let's go."

As Xander and Willow walked further into the Initiative complex Spike suddenly realized something.

"Wait a second, Red," he said curious, "Girlfriend? Are you a carpet muncher now? Whatever happened to Werewolf Boy?"

x

* * *

x

Dropping the remains of another destroyed Goa'uld worm Belmovekk used his chi to incinerate what remained of the worm's capital. As before he took care to safeguard the unconscious First Prime at his feet and extended his shield around the both of them. Just in time as a giant flash erupted around them.

For 5 full minutes a blastwave of annihilating chi blazed across the world at an ever increasing rate, speeding across cities, forests, continents and even oceans. This time Belmovekk had dispensed with the gradual approach, taking out ancillary bases and cities first and instead gone straight for the jugular. It seemed like a good idea the first time, but this way he could hurt Anubis way more before word got out that a homicidal Saiyan was on the lose looking for worms to slaughter. Once that happened the other worms would go to ground and be much harder to find. And killing a worm's planet without him wouldn't have the same kind of impact. Besides, he could destroying the rest of the planet after killing the Goa'uld.

As he ended his planetary shockwave of chi, fire erupted on what remained on the planet as ruined buildings and plant life took to flame. Meanwhile, at ground zero, Belmovekk made sure the local Goa'uld's First Prime was okay, after all, he was to be his messenger, then he launched himself into the air and flew towards the Stargate. He'd figure that he could still kill half a dozen Goa'uld before they scattered to the winds.

x

* * *

x

Using Willow's sorcery and a lot of luck Xander, Willow and Spike made their way into the Initiative complex. Most of it seemed nothing special, mostly living quarters and other rooms dedicated to maintaining the facility. Throughout their journey they encountered more of the zombie soldiers and modified demons. Who might have been dead too, they weren't quite sure. At least Willow's illusions kept them from being noticed.

After their search came up empty Willow decided maybe their best bet was to hack into the Initiative network so she led them into a room where she had seen a terminal.

"You must be crazy," Spike protested, "We're surrounded by techno zombies and you want to log into their network? What makes you think that that won't set the alarm bells off?"

"I still think Borg's a better name then techno zombie," Xander interjected.

Willow ignored Xander and gave Spike an angry stare.

"Because I'm good?" she said angry with just a hint of injured pride. Then she sat down behind the computer terminal.

"Hell hath no greater fury then a woman scorned," Xander smirked as he closed the door behind them, but he kept close to it, to keep an eye on potential trouble.

"Look, Red, no need to get your knickers all in a twist," Spike said apologetic as Willow pulled out her laptop again, "I was just trying to make a p…."

"I know, Spike," Willow said as she fired up her trusty warhorse, "You can't help being your obnoxious self."

"I….," Spike tried to protest, then he waved his hand dismissively and leaned against a wall, "Why do I even bother?"

Willow installed herself, setting up her laptop and connected it to the Initiative terminal.

"Let's see," she said as she began her hacking, "Oh, an Agent right off the bat. Interesting. These guys are paranoid."

"I don't even want to know," Spike muttered dejected as he fumbled for his missing cigarettes again, "God, I'd kill for a cigarette right now."

"Aren't we just peachy they put that chip into your freeway construction zone of drool?" Xander smirked.

"Keep it up, Droopy," Spike said without looking at Xander, "One of these days…."

"Oooooh, I'm shaking in my boots," Xander said, pretending to be scared.

"And….. I'm in," Willow said triumphantly, "Told ya I was good!"

"Way to go, Will," Xander said and held up his right hand, "air high five?"

"Tsha," Willow said as she air high fived back.

"Am I the only one who thinks it goes way to easy?" Spike remarked.

"Oh, they put up a fight," Willow said smug, "it's just that when hacker girls becomes sorcery girl as well, not even the sky becomes the limit."

"So, see anything interesting?" Xander asked curiously.

"I see that a lot of people who were on my suspect list are on the Initiative duty roster," Willow said glued to her screen, then her face turned white, "Oh dear."

"Please don't tell me that that's an 'I've just got caught' oh dear?" Spike said concerned.

"I'm reading our files here," Willow said.

"What do you mean our files?" Xander said as he left his post next to the door and joined Willow's side, then his face turned white as well, "Oh dear. If I had glasses right now I'd break them while polishing."

"These guys know almost everything about us," Willow said shaken, "they know that Buffy's the Slayer, that Faith's also the Slayer and that you're the one responsible for that."

"They even have access to our high school files, those are Snyder's remarks," Xander said, then his face gained an incredulous look, "A good for nothing slacker, who will never amount to anything? A future welfare bum?"

Xander turned away in disgust.

"Well, it was like, um, Snyder," Willow said trying to cheer Xander up, "Wadda ya expect?"

"It still hurts reading about it, Will," Xander replied, then he turned around again to read the screen, "I have to say, now I feel a little less remorse at the Mayor having eaten his sorry ass. Actually none at all."

"I can understand where they get a lot of the information on us," Willow said worried, "A lot of it is in the public record if you know what to look for. But how did they find out Buffy's the Slayer? That's not in the public record."

"Maybe they took it from Spike's brain?" Xander said nodding towards the vampire.

"And how would that explain why they knew about our missing white trash Slayer?" Spike countered, "Last time I was in town I never met the crazy bint, remember?"

"Spike's right," Willow said pointing to the information on the screen, "they know way too much details about the Slayer in general to have known it from Spike. They even know who was the Slayer before Buffy. This is like stuff that could only come from the Council's records."

"We'll sort it out later," Xander said, "Just keep looking for other stuff."

Willow saved the files to her laptop and pressed on the search, opening and scrolling through a lot of folders and files.

"Hold it," Xander said suddenly and pointed to the screen, "Open those files."

"Oh dear," Willow said even more shaken then before, "this is bad."

"So it was these guys who found what was left of #13," Xander said nodding his head, then he looked at Spike, "Now it suddenly all falls into place."

"What?" the vampire asked surprised but Xander ignored him.

"Bastards get #13, they retrofit the technology into Murphy here, hijinks ensue," Xander said, then he leaned over forward, "the question now becomes, where do they keep the stash?"

"What do you mean?" Willow asked.

"The diskey, Will," Xander said looking at Willow, "#13's diskey. If we get it, we finally have a full set, the Big Guy can finally take care of Gero and we get our lives back. You could finally get to go to college. Instead of just hanging out with a college girl."

"I'm not hanging out with a college girl," Willow muttered as she typed on her laptop, "Tara's my soul mate."

"She's still a college girl," Xander grinned.

"You know, I still feel like I'm missing part of the story here," Spike said, "Like somebody went from A to B and then straight to E."

"Shut up, Spike," Xander and Willow said in unison.

"Fine," Spike muttered softly to himself as Xander and Willow returned their attention to Willow's laptop.

"There's a whole additional complex over there that we haven't seen," Willow said after she finally found a map of the Initiative complex.

"How big are our chances that that's where the Big Bad's hiding," Xander said, "And where our missing girl is?"

"Could be dangerous though," Willow said, "There's only one passageway connecting it to this part of the complex. We're going to run into somebody or something at some point that my illusions can't handle."

"We have no choice, Will," Xander said, "We have to descend into the heart of darkness at some point."

"How about that spot," Spike said as he leaned over and examined the map, pointing to a large hall close to the interconnecting hallway, "seems like a large place, just the place some Big Bad wants to hang out and make big speeches to his loyal minions."

"How would you know?" Xander said, looking at the vampire.

"Wasn't I the Big Bad in Sunnydale for a while?" Spike replied, "trust me, nothing says I'm the Big Kahuna like having a large hall so your minions can assemble and hear you gloat."

"And why can't they do that on the other side?" Xander asked.

"There's no big hall there," Spike shrugged, "Besides, that's mostly holding cells and Pointdexter rooms."

"What makes you think that?" Willow asked, upon which Spike rolled his eyes.

"Because they kept me in a prison and experimented on me and so far we've seen none of those places," he said pointing to the separate complex, "And because it makes every sense to keep your prisoners in a place where they can't escape."

Willow and Xander looked at each other.

"Spike's got a point," she said, "We might as well check that hall out first. It's not even that big a detour."

"Fine," Xander sighed.

x

* * *

x

Sitting behind his study desk Giles felt something wasn't right. He had called off his meeting with the Committee. With Mayor Wilkins gone and himself as chairman of the Committee the Edict seemed to be working at last, up to such a point that Giles felt confident enough to miss the Committee's last get together and wait for the minutes to be delivered.

Instead he felt more compelled to take out his copies of the Gypsy Prophecies again. Something was amiss. Ancient super weapons of doom in space involving the Slayer, a secret organization in Cleveland out to kill them with Spike getting a chat from one of the Destinies.

And yet…., so far he could find absolutely nothing about it in the Gypsy Prophecies. Which wasn't that unusual by itself. They had explained it to them that while past and present meant nothing to them, the future was still mostly clouded. As they learned more they just went back in time and passed the information on to their Gypsy oracles in the past. Who then wrote it down in the hard to decipher gibberish that now lay on Giles' desk.

There had been times that Giles had committed the unthinkable sacrilege. He had taken the Prophecies to a copy shop and made photocopies of them. If his late professor from university had seen this sacrilege he would have been spinning in his grave. But it had to be done, at least that's what he had thought. If those Necessities retro-actively updated the Prophecies then maybe having multiple copies would help him spot any differences. And they would then alert him.

It didn't work of course. He never found any discrepancies. Which was logical in a way. If these Necessities could go back in time to change the what was written, making sure it would affect all copies was peanuts compared to that.

Or maybe, and that worried him even more, like every other prophecy, the Gypsy Prophecies already contained everything he needed to know and either it would only make sense what it was supposed to make sense. And maybe he was just not up to the task?

So for the umpteenth time Giles poured himself another cup of tea and set himself to making sense of that which made no sense whatsoever. For heaven's sake, for instance, what was he supposed to make of this reverence to a two faced Goddess looking for something to open a door with?

x

* * *

x

"Told ya," Spike said triumphantly.

"Fine, you were right for a change," Xander said reluctantly.

The three were peering behind some boxes on the upper railway of the large hall that Spike had identified on the map as Big Bad Central. And it would seem he had been right. The large hall looked like it was originally a Cold War command center. And it still looked like one. A large map of the United States was hanging on the wall and computer terminals were abound.

The place was also abound with demons and techno-zombies. Some were of the soldier variety, armed with their futuristic looking ray guns, others looked like scientists, with Willow identifying some of them as the missing academics. Some were seated behind some of the computer terminals, others walked around doing stuff. All however, as far as they could see from peering from their vantage point, seemed equipped with the back of the neck implants.

"This officially stops being Night of the Living Borg and has now officially become Invasion of the Bodysnatchers," Xander said in revulsion.

"Who cares?" Spike replied.

"Was it like this when you were here?" Willow asked the vampire, who shook his head.

"No," Spike said, "I don't remember much, but from what I do remember the people weren't pod people, they had actual personalities.

"So something went very badly wrong," Xander said. But you escaped not that long ago. This looks like its been going on for a lot longer. Will said these people stopped going to the university at least two weeks before you escaped."

Spike looked at Xander and shrugged.

"How the hell should I know? Last thing I remembered was waking up on that cart with two guards pulling my cart and…."

Spike's eyes grew suddenly big.

"What?" Willow asked concerned, "What do you remember?"

'I think I now saw those implants on the back of their necks," Spike said as he tapped the back of his own neck.

Xander shook his head and had to restrain himself from hitting the vampire.

"And it never occurred to you to tell us that?" he said accusingly.

"Back off, Droopy," Spike said angry, "I had other things on my mind."

"I bet you did," Xander muttered angry.

"Guys, be quiet," Willow whispered and pointed below, "Something's happening."

Below in the hall someone large entered. Flanked by two lieutenants the newcomer walked to a dais and then he turned around.

"Whoa, Frankenstein much?" Willow gasped as she saw his face. The man looked like he had been grafted together from various body parts. Part man, part demon, part machine. Her surprise became even greater as she recognized who his lieutenants were.

"That's professor Walsh!" she said.

"Oh I definitely recognize that bitch," Spike muttered angrily, "I'd recognize that face anywhere."

"And now she joined the ranks of the Borg too," Xander said, then he pointed towards the other lieutenant, "And now it suddenly makes sense how the Initiative knew so much about us as well."

"That's Quentin Travers?" Willow gasped shocked, then she looked at Xander, "The Council and the Initiative working together?"

"I guess our ruse wasn't so successful after all," Xander nodded, then he began to smile, "of course, Quentin becoming Locutus of London does seem like a fitting fate for the bastard."

"I take it you know the bugger?" Spike asked.

"Quentin Travers is the head of the Watcher's Council," Xander explained, "and a grade A asshole. He makes you look nice by comparison."

"So no love lost there then?"

"More like hatred at first sight," Xander nodded as he watched the head of the International Council of Watchers, "You're evil because you're a soulless fiend from the grave with a demon inside you. He's evil because he doesn't give a damn about all the girls he sends out to die. Just pawns in a chess game as far as that asshole's concerned. He's the guy whose idea of an 18th birthday gift consists of injecting Slayers with a concoction that takes away their strength and then throw them a birthday party in a locked house together with a crazed vampire."

"Nasty," Spike echoed, then he shrugged, "Then again, a good way to see if they can still hold their own."

"I think that if a Slayer makes it to her 18th birthday she has more then proven to be able to hold her own," Xander countered angrily.

"You'd think that," Spike said with a sly smile, "But you'd be surprised. I killed two of them and I can tell ya, after a while they just stop….."

"FRIENDS!" a voice boomed through the hall. It was the cyborg. His voice sounded calm but firm, with just enough lack of emotion to make it look creepy.

"Ever since we have taken our destiny in our own hands we have toiled to increase our numbers," the cyborg spoke, "The day has finally come that our numbers are large enough to carry out the mission set forth by our creator."

On the screen a map appeared of Nevada that slowly zoomed in until it settled on a map of a large white salt lake with a large base situated to the south of it.

"Tomorrow we begin our assault on the Groom Lake base," Cyborg said pointing towards the map, "and we will finally recover the remains of those who have been lost to us."

"Not only will we restore our fallen comrades #14 and #15, but once we finally recover their diskeys we will warn our creator of the danger that will befall him. Using our superior strength and numbers we then strike at the town of Sunnydale and obliterate our enemies while they are still unaware of us."

The Cyborg raised both hands into the air.

"Long live the creator!" He yelled triumphantly.

"LONG LIVE DOCTOR GERO!" the demons and techno-zombies shouted back.

Up on the ledge behind the boxes Xander let himself sit down against a box in shock.

"Hands up who saw that coming," Xander finally said flabbergasted, "or maybe not?"

"What the hell is going on here?" Spike asked surprised.

"We must warn everybody," Willow said equally shaken, "This is bigger then us. We need the others. Piccolo, probably Goku and his friends as well."

"Oh my God, this might be the Battle of Sunnydale all over again," Xander moaned, then he looked up, "You guys are having way too much fun at my expense!"

"Hello," Spike said trying to get some attention, "what the hell is going on here?"

"We have to tell Riley too," Willow said ignoring Spike, "they're going to attack that military base."

"I can see that conversation right now," Xander muttered dejected, "Oh, Riley, we learned that some evil Cyborg with his Borg army, created by some shady US government group, is going to attack a US base that has the remains of the Androids."

Xander then looked at Willow.

"What on Earth is the connection between this guy and Gero? That guy would NEVER come out of hiding to help this Initiative. Would he?"

"I don't know," Willow said shaking her head, "Maybe it's because they used Gero's technology. Maybe some of his programming carried over into that guy."

"Oh God," Xander moaned, "They've created an army of #13's on steroids!"

"Could somebody _please_ tell me what's go….," Spike said, then he waved his hand dismissively at the two, "Why bother, it seems to me you don't have a clue either."

Spike leaned on the boxes again so he could look what was going on below.

"#13 really gave you a ticket to traumaville, didn't he?" Willow asked Xander.

"Bastard broke nearly everything there is to break inside me," Xander said, then he pointed backwards over his shoulder, "If that's him again I shudder to think what he can do now. I mean, Murphy here's obviously the prototype. Frankenstein on the other hand is most likely the full blown production model."

"We don't know that for sure," Willow countered, "For all we know he's…."

"Uh, guys," Spike interjected, "I know you don't listen to a word I say but when I say you should see this, I really mean it."

"What?" Xander said annoyed, upon which Spike pointed forward. Muttering softly Xander turned around, got on his knees and looked over the box into the hall again.

"This better be go….," Xander said, then his jaw nearly fell to the floor.

For in plain view of anybody to see Faith had entered the hall.

x

* * *

x

"You're dismissed."

With that the Jaffa that was kneeling on the floor got up, made a final bow and then left. Leaving Anubis to sit on his chair in his map room and ponder what he had just heard. Then he gestured towards one of his servants.

"Show me the latest update to the Galactic situation," he said and a hologram of the milky way appeared before him where the Jaffa had been. The hologram was color coded to show the current territorial disposition of the Systemlords. And yet another one of his allies turned to a neutral color after yet another First Prime had come to deliver the Saiyan's message.

This wasn't going according to plan.

Damn the Majin for not finishing him off!

Latest intelligence had it that word was getting out that something was picking off his allies one at a time. It would mean that his remaining allies would get nervous. It would mean that they would scatter. Some would go into hiding, some would come here to demand protection and of course some would even defect to Yi's side. And Yi and his allies would fully exploit this new situation. Attacking those of his allies who had gone into hiding and trying to take over the territory of those who had been killed.

If he wanted to prevent a strategic meltdown he would have to act fast. But how? If he reinforced his allies he would leave his own territory vulnerable to an attack. He could attack Yi and his allies instead to divert attention. But that would still leave his allies vulnerable to the Saiyan. And he wasn't strong enough himself to attack Yi. Not yet anyway.

There was however one other option left. He could give in to the Saiyan and return that which he sought to reclaim.

That damn Saiyan! If only that thing had done what it was supposed to do and kill that damn Saiyan before abducting the Slayer.

Anubis signaled his servant to turn off the strategic hologram and got up from his chair. This called for another option.

Walking to an adjacent room Anubis stood still in the center of the room. Next thing a series of rings dropped down, a flash happened and he emerged in a similar room elsewhere as the series of rings disappeared.

Two Jaffa immediately stood to attention as they saw him emerge from the ring transporter. Then one of them opened the door they were guarding. Ignoring the guards Anubis stepped through the door and into a corridor, lined with more guards. At the end of which was another door. As Anubis stepped through those he emerged into another ring transporter room. Standing in the center the rings came and went and he was in yet another location.

Unlike the previous one with its Egyptian style architecture and decoration this one was different. One could almost call it gothic in nature. The only Egyptian elements were the uniforms of the Jaffa on guard. Leaving the transporter room Anubis walked through a new maze of corridors. There were Jaffa guards on every corner, but there were also others present, dressed in strange exotic garb, almost like they were priests.

Which they were of course.

Every Goa'uld employed a vast arsenal of priests to make sure every one of his subjects bowed to him. But these weren't priests of the cult of Anubis. Hell, they weren't even his own priests. Sometimes you just had to outsource.

News of his arrival had spread though and some of the head priests approached him.

"Yes, Lord Anubis?" the head priest asked as he made a formal bow.

"There has been a change of plan," Anubis said, "I want you to get started now."

The priests looked at each other confused.

"But Lord Anubis," the head priest protested, "we are not ready yet. Our Anointed One, she hasn't arrived yet."

"I don't care," Anubis said dismissively, "Take notes for all I care, record every part of the process but I will wait no longer. We must proceed now."

'Not without the Anointed One," the head priest said resolutely upon which Anubis snapped with his fingers to the nearest Jaffa. Who took out his zat'ni'kitel and fired twice at the head priest. Even as the man was falling dead to the floor Anubis continued.

"When I say now, I mean now! I will kill each and every one of you until I find one who will do as I say. Make up your mind or go through the fastest round of promotions ever."

"We will do as you say," another priest said as he bowed his head submissive.

"See, it's not so hard," Anubis said, then he turned around and walked away. Moving through several more of heavily guarded and armored doors Anubis finally came to his destination. The Jaffa guards opened these final doors and let him pass, then closed the door behind him.

Inside there were no Jaffa. Just a large round chamber, most of it clouded in shadows, its walls adorned in a gothic looking script. The only light was aimed at the center of the room, where there was a large stone slab. On that stone slab were two crude looking bunk beds, one of which was empty, on the other lay a girl bound in chains. Between them was placed a large stone chalice filled with a clear liquid.

"So how are you, dear?" Anubis asked the girl as he stood by her side. The girl looked at him with fire in her eyes.

"Why don't you unlock these chains and find out?" she said defiantly.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Anubis said as he put a foot on the stone slab and then rested one of his arms on his knees, "I trust your stay hasn't been uncomfortable?"

"I'd fire the one responsible for room service," she replied staring at him, "Or the interior decorator. Are you the Singing Detective or something? You look terrible."

The girl was of course referring to his current host's physical appearance. Ever after Amūn had killed his semi-ascended body Anubis had gone through a series of short-lived hosts, none of which proved able to survive for a long duration through to the nature of his semi-ascended state. In that sense at least Amūn had thwarted him. If he still had his semi-ascended body he would never have been in his current position. And neither would she have for that matter.

"I'll pass on the recommendations, youngling," Anubis said, "as for my appearance, it will be taken care of shortly."

"Youngling?" the girl said incredulously, "Do they still make people who talk like bad movie villains?"

"Rest," Anubis said softly, "Soon it will be all over."

The girl rattled her chains as she tried to break free. They were quite ordinary chains and she would have easily broken them if it weren't for the control collar he had placed around her neck. The control collar, which was of Ancient design, another piece of technology he had stolen from them, was quite ingenious as it neutralized a person's inner strength. It was so tailor made for her it sometimes amazed Anubis why the Ancients came up with such a device.

After some chain rattling the girl calmed down again.

"Are you calm again, youngling?" Anubis asked, then he pointed towards her collar, "As long as you wear that collar the chains, well, probably any kind of chains, will hold you. Resistance is futile."

"Resistance is never futile," the girl mattered angrily, "even if it means I have to chew through these chains. I'll kick your ass and that of your tame pet over there."

Anubis looked aside and saw some movement in the dark. Seeing that it was noticed a pink childlike figure emerged from the shadows. It was the Majin.

It stared at Anubis even angrier then the girl did. The Majin resented that it was under Anubis' control. It was strong. So very strong. And to think it was just a prototype. That at least was what They had said.

But it was also headstrong, Anubis' control over it tentative at best, fighting him at every turn. That was probably why it had not killed the Saiyan.

"You failed me, Majin," Anubis said depreciatively, "I ordered you to kill the Saiyan, instead he's still alive, causing me great havoc."

"Belmo's still alive?" the girl said hopeful. The Majin on the other hand just bared its teeth in a ghastly smirk.

"I want you to go find the Saiyan and stop him before he kills even more of my allies," Anubis said and pointed to the outside, "Is that understood?"

"Rrghrrrrr!" the Majin snarled in response. Upon which Anubis held up his right hand containing a small golden urn. As soon as he showed the urn the Majin stepped back and even showed signs of fear.

"Don't make me put you back inside, Majin," Anubis said as he used his other hand which had a gold ring on one of his finger, with the letter M on it, then he brought the ring close to the urn, "For I will. You remember what it was like, do you not, Majin?"

"RrGhrrrrrr!" the Majin snarled defiantly. It really didn't want to go back inside in that small urn, which had been where the Final Great Alliance led by the Kaioshin had imprisoned him for all those millennia.

"Then do as I say," Anubis thundered.

Snarling one more time at Anubis, the Majin opened a portal, then he disappeared inside. Leaving Anubis alone with the girl.

"So, Slayer," Anubis said, "Finally we are together at last."

"Now that he knows it exists Belmo will crush that thing," the girl spat defiantly at him, "You have no idea what he's capable off."

"On the contrary," Anubis chuckled, "I know very well what he's capable off. I just heard what he's capable off. I doubt that even you know what he's truly capable of."

"Oh great," the girl sighed as she rolled her eyes, "Here comes the Big Bad speech again. I wonder what's worse, having to lie here in silence all day with that thing breathing down my neck or being bored by you."

The door to the chamber opened and people stepped inside, forming a circle around the stone slab and Anubis.

"Who are they?" the girl asked curious.

"They're priests," Anubis said amused as he watched the priests set up shop..

"Belmo told me you guys like to be worshipped all day." the girl said, "that if you guys could mate with your own image in the mirror it be a match made in heaven."

Anubis looked at the priests, who slowly began to chant.

"Actually, these aren't my priests, I just hired them," he said grinning, then he looked at the girl again, "You could say they are _your_ priests.

The girl gave him a look of complete surprise. Then she recovered.

"I have priests?" she asked incredulously, "When did that happen? Normally I'm lucky to get an allowance."

"Did you know, Slayer, that cults devoted to you still exist on several worlds?" Anubis said, "Even after being ruthlessly persecuted by several of the System Lords?"

"I might have heard something along that line, Goold," the girl replied.

"Followers of the Slayer have always led the resistance against the Systemlords on such worlds. But unfortunately for them, while humanity has been seeded amongst the stars, the essence of the Slayer never seems to leave the homeworld of the Tau'ri."

"There have been those amongst the followers of the Slayer who seek to address that. Some have turned to technology to re-awaken the essence of the Slayer. Others to acts of faith and magic. Which is more often then you think, Slayer, because my brethren more often then not suppress technology."

"In both cases however these followers of the Slayer have failed to bring forth their Savior. Without access to a real Slayer they do not know how to activate the mechanism that turns girls like you, into, well, you."

The girl looked at Anubis, then at the chanting priests, then at Anubis again as she realized what was going to happen. Then she turned to the chanting priests again.

"You're going to take away the Slayer?," she said, with rising panic in her voice, "You can't do that! There is no way to predict who will be chosen. It's purely random!"

"They think otherwise," Anubis said leaning forward, "That they can control the mechanism once they know how it activates. And you are wrong, Slayer, it is not random. Have you never wondered why you were chosen? There is a reason."

"Don't do it!" the girl called out to the chanting priests. But they ignored her cries.

"Spare them your cries, Slayer, for they cannot understand your speech," Anubis said, then he looked at the priests and cupped his chin as he mused aloud, "Ironic is it not? Despite their millennia of being separated from their brethren on the Tau'ri homeworld, They Who Watch still see the Slayer just as much as a mere tool for them to use as your own Watcher's Council. You and the Majin are alike. Both living weapons forged for a higher purpose and controlled by others."

"Well, I for one don't drool, know that pink's not my color and can speak in more then just monosyllables," the girl said deadpan.

"I have noticed," Anubis said, "you can actually form simple sentences. I shall enjoy your highly developed keen intellect once you become my new host."

"I….," the girl tried to say, then she looked at him suspiciously, "Wait a sec, now I get it. First Belmo, now me? You guys aren't very original, are you?"

"As you may have noticed this host will soon die," Anubis said pointing to his already deteriorating face, "Because I was once Ascended no human host is able to contain me. Only the power of the Slayer is strong enough to withstand me. And these priests of Those Who Watch will make that possible. Once the Soul Chalice that stands besides you glows brightly it will transfer your soul out, leaving you an empty shell for me to fill."

The girl glanced the chalice beside her, then at the priests, then at the chalice again. She briefly tried to knock it over but to no avail.

"Then what happens to me once I'm in the magic cup?" she asked.

"You'll probably end up in my former body," Anubis said.

"Lucky me," she finally said, "and what do the Brady Bunch get out of this?"

"The one thing they previously lacked," Anubis shrugged, "a living Slayer to study so they can create their own."

The girl raised an eyebrow like she suddenly noticed a fatal flaw in his plan.

"Excuse me," she said, "don't these guys fight the Goold? Your kind? Do you really want to give them a Slayer."

Anubis leaned forward again and smiled.

"They are not from my realm," he smirked, "What they do in the realm of another System Lord is not of my concern. That is, if they ever manage to leave this place alive."

The girl sighed dejected.

"You're so cliché," she sighed, "First you steal Glow in the Dark Belmo's plan, then you gloat and do the speeching thing, then you talk about how you will betray them after you succeed. Hello, bad Hollywood movie wants its bad guy cliché back."

"You're an odd girl," Anubis said as he gave her a curious glance, "Most would by now have begged for their life."

The girl returned his curious glance with a glare of steel.

"I'm Buffy Summers, I'm the Vampire Slayer," she said slowly, "I don't beg. I chew bubblegum and kick ass. Doesn't matter which body I'll end up in, I will drive you out like a bad smell. And if I don't then Belmo will."

"You really believe that, don't you?" Anubis said impressed, then he leaned forward again, "Well, listen up then, Buffy Summers. You may be the Slayer, and thanks to that Saiyan you have come way further then any other of your fellows. But you still don't have a clue as to what you're capable off."

Anubis leaned over until he was close to her face, then he whispered.

"But I do."

x

* * *

x

Faith had lost track of the time she had spent wandering the bunker complex. Most of it felt like she was walking in her dream again. She felt like she heard the laughter again.

From time to time she ran into a techno-demon or techno-zombie. It didn't matter much, as they were all dead to begin with, so she could kill them all without remorse. On and on she went, as only one thing mattered, finding that elusive voice that was driving her crazy.

 _Just a little further._

She should really stop and give pause to what she was doing. Go back and find Xander and the others. But she felt both compelled and determined to find out what was driving her. Besides, they could take care of themselves.

As she made her way through the complex she was struck by how similar it was to her dream, sans the dead bodies. After a long search she came to another closed massive door. Since nobody put a massive door in place for nothing she felt a closer inspection was in order. She was about to put a little elbow grease into motion when she stopped.

 _Not yet._

Instead she turned around and retraced her steps until she came to a different door, one not so well protected. But one which she felt warranted a closer inspection.

 _Close now…._

Halting for a moment Faith took a deep breath. Somehow she felt this was it.

"There better be some answers here," she said softly. Then she reached out towards the door.

As soon as she did however she stopped as something long and snakelike wrapped itself around her neck and began to squeeze.

Gasping for air Faith reached for her neck.

And found nothing there.

As she rubbed her throat Faith swallowed. What the fuck was this?

"Very funny," she said annoyed, then she reached for the door, now more determined then ever to see what was inside.

As she opened the door and stepped inside it was like she stepped into a Mad Max movie. She had entered a large hall loaded with techno-zombies and demons all jeering and rooting for something. Or someone. Boy, if you were looking for slay adjacent she'd just hit the jackpot. But she hadn't come here looking for slay adjacent. She had come here for answer.

As soon as she stepped inside demons and zombies began to notice her. Maybe it was some uplink thingy but in no time the whole hall was staring at her.

Then the strangest thing happened. Rather then attack her and run her all over, the technically enhanced undead parted ways like the Red Sea before Moses. As they did Faith could see who they were cheering for.

Standing on a dais was the creature from her dreams. Part man, part demon, part mechanical.

"You have come," he said in a calm pleasant voice. If you dig monotonous voices that was.

Slowly Faith began to walk to the creature that had stalked her in her dreams.

"Who are you?" she asked. The answer came in her mind.

" _We are the same,"_ it said in that same voice, but now in her head. While pleasantly sounding there was little emotion in it, and its lack of intonation made it sound drone like.

" _That's no answer,"_ Faith thought back.

" _You will understand later,"_ the cyborg replied.

Faith looked around. All the dead demons and soldiers were staring at her with their undead eyes. Waiting for Frankenborg's command. She wondered if they were privy to the unspoken conversation.

" _Who are you?"_ Faith thought as she looked at the creature from her dreams.

" _My name is Adam, Faith,"_ the reply came back.

"You know my name?" Faith thought taken aback. Upon which Frankenborg smiled.

" _I know many things,"_ it replied, _"I know of things to come. Of things that are and of things that have been. I know about you Faith."_

" _H… how?"_

Before Adam could reply something blond fell down screaming next to her, followed by something brunette landing right between them

"Are you pretending to be insane or just are?" Xander said angry before taking on a cyber demon. Having watched from the upper railing he had seen Faith walk through the Borg Collective below and then come perilously close to the Borg King. Seeing that she wasn't putting up much of a struggle he could only conclude that she was under some kind of thrall or spell.

"We've got to go down there and save her," he had said to Willow and Spike.

"Good luck, Droopy, nice to have met you," Spike had said, "I'm not going down there."

"Oh yes you are," Xander had said unimpressed.

"Oh no I'm not," Spike had said undaunted by Xander's disapproval, "As you may recall, Droopy, I got this chip in me….. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Before Spike could finish his sentence Xander had grabbed him by his shirt and threw him over the railing. Then he looked at Willow.

"Prepare us an exit," he said and jumped after Spike.

Landing right in front of Faith Xander turned towards her and gave her a piece of his mind.

"You bastard! Spike said angry as he picked himself off the floor, "You had no ri…"

Xander pushed him right into the nearest row of cyber demons and zombies.

"Do something useful for a change," he yelled, then he faced the Borg King and powered up as fast as he could. While Xander powered up Spike crashed right into several of the technologically undead.

"Bugger!" he muttered, then he fended of a blow to the head. Without thinking he counterattacked.

And to his surprise didn't experience any pain at all.

He hit another techno zombie and again, no pain.

"Hey, I can hit these things!" he said excited as he began to whack demons and zombies around..

"Lucky you," Xander replied as he made the Earth tremble.

"Xander, what the hell are you doing?" Faith said as she joined in the fray.

"Saving your leathered ass," Xander replied.

As things degenerated into chaos and Faith and Spike began whacking demons and zombies around Xander finished his power up and attacked the head cyborg.

Slamming into the cyborg with his elbow Xander sent him staggering backwards. But not by much. Then the cyborg began to smirk in a very familiar fashion.

"So Xander Harris tries to get his revenge," it said in a tone that sounded different then before. It wasn't the calm but droning voice of before. There was a Southern kind of voice, with an almost white trash draw to it.

"I know who you are," Xander said confidently as the cyborg blocked his next attack. And the ones after that. It didn't deter the youngster. For he was fueled with righteous anger and had someone to protect. Even if she had been foolish. But strangely, what at least gave him pause to worry was that he could almost hear a chorus of voices singing in his mind, singing of glorious battle, arduous conflict and victory achieved by pushing oneself to the utmost limit against the odds. They were singing in an alien voice and it wasn't Klingon.

It was exhilarating!

But as he battled the cyborg realism quickly took a cold shower on his lust for battle. He may be a dork but he wasn't the Prince of Dorkness. Lust for battle was a Saiyan thing, it was not supposed to be his thing. So as he put a lid on his Saiyan side the cyborg reclaimed the initiative and began to attack.

"Who am I, Xander Harris?" the cyborg asked without showing any sign of having to physically exert himself to great lengths.

"Leftover trash we should have thrown out with the garbage long ago, #13," Xander grunted as he blocked yet another attack.

"Then maybe you should have finished the job properly when you had the chance, boy," the Cyborg said contemptuously.

"I'll be sure to put it on the agenda for our next super hero meeting," Xander said dodging an attack that caused cracks to appear on the wall 12 feet behind him.

"You know you can't win," the cyborg said trying to kick Xander's legs from underneath him, "resistance is futile."

"I thrive in 'best of both worlds' country," Xander said as he barely managed to evade the cyborg's kick.

But as he did Xander came to the realization that he couldn't beat this gobbled together from leftovers freak. He wasn't even sure that Pickles could beat this guy. Whatever that crazy bitch and that Council weirdo had concocted, this was going to require Saiyan levels of strength to undo.

Jumping back Xander put himself on top of a large cabinet and held out both of his arms, charging energy attacks in the both of them.

"You're a tough son offa bitch, I'll grant you that," Xander called out, "But if I can't beat you to a pulp, I'll have to blow you to a pulp."

The cyborg shrugged, then he held up both hands, making himself as vulnerable as possible.

"Do your worst, Xander Harris," it said confidently.

"Oh, I will," Xander as he continued to charge his attack, "Think Kamehameha only ten times worse! You'll remember that, don't ya?"

"I'm still standing right?" the cyborg shrugged.

As he charged his attack, the noise of the energy being collected grew louder and louder, like the sound of an storm about to erupt.

"You do realize that if you unleash that thing against me the resulting explosion will cause the greater Cleveland area to explode with it," the cyborg said calmly but louder, "You don't strike me as one who is so cavalier about human life."

"I'm not a Slayer," Xander yelled back, "I don't worship on the altar of humanity. If Gero ever were to learn the truth the whole world could end anyway. Sacrificing Cleveland is a small price to pay by comparison."

"You're bluffing," the Cyborg yelled, "there live up to a million people in the greater Cleveland area. They're a given. Whatever may or may not happen if Gero learns the truth is an abstract. You don't have the stones to kill them all."

Xander didn't reply immediately. But he kept charging his attack. Then he brought both hands together and folded both energy attacks into a single large one. Then he threw the attack at the cyborg.

"FULLY OPERATIONAL DEATHSTAR ATTACK!"

As he threw the attack at the cyborg several things happened. The cyborg crossed his arms in front of him to ward off the attack. He didn't think based on the information he had from Xander Harris that the kid would actually blow up Cleveland just to get to him. But he did! Which meant the kid was more ruthless then he had given him credit for.

As the attack exploded a massive bright orange explosion filled the underground hall.

But as the dust settled nothing had happened!

Everything was the same as before.

But not quite. For Xander Harris and the Dark Slayer were gone.

Xander had never intended to blow up the cyborg and Cleveland with it, as he realized neither of them had the power to actually harm the thing. So he was stalling for time until Willow had prepared her portal spell. As soon as he received a mental heads up Xander threw his 'all show no substance' attack at the cyborg and jumped straight for Faith.

"Let's go, Spike," he yelled just before the attack exploded, then he jumped up towards the railing where Willow was and leaped through the portal she had created.

Emerging on the other side of the portal Xander and Faith came down rolling on the grass of what was now the Sunnydale High Memorial Park. No sooner had they stopped rolling as Willow came through after them.

"Xander, what the hell…?" Faith said angry, then with a loud whoosh the portal closed.

"I bought us time," Xander said as he stood up and tried to orientate himself, then he recognized the place, "We're back in Sunnydale?"

"Sorry," Willow said sheepishly, "I made a slight mistake, I was under a little too much pressure."

"It's not so bad," Xander said as he extended a hand towards Faith and helped her up, "This puts us in a good spot to call for reinforcements. In the words of Police Chief Martin Brody, we're going to need a bigger boat."

Then the shit hit the fan as Faith noticed something.

"Where's Spike?"

x

* * *

x

In the large hall underneath Cleveland Spike was fighting for his life. To his surprise his supposed allies and the ones who had gotten him into this mess had suddenly abandoned him after Droopy had unleashed his massive yet fake attack. Now the whole lot was coming after him. Thanks, you Sunnydale wankers!

"Come on, you wankers!" Spike shouted defiantly as the horde of the techno undead closed in on him, "If I go down I'll take the whole lot of you with me!"

To illustrate his point Spike began to charge a massive attack between his hands. Cleveland be damned if it meant an end to his life. It would seem he had no qualms in regards to human life in the abstract sense as the chip wasn't flooding his neural paths with pain.

Suddenly the undead stopped advancing, then they parted and the cyborg king came through.

"So this is how it's going to be, huh?" Spike said and aimed the attack right at him. He tried to fire but to his surprise found that he couldn't. Could it be the damn chip again? It didn't feel like it. There was no searing pain. And yet he felt utterly unable to let it go at this, this thing.

Then this thing came up right at him and put his hands on Spike's.

"Relax, Spike," he said in that calm droning voice again. As he did Spike stopped charging his attack and instead re-absorbed it.

"Who are you," Spike said flabbergasted at his own actions.

The Cyborg began to smile.

"We are brothers, you and I," it said, "Spike and Adam. Adam and Spike. Hello, older brother."


	10. Chapter Seven

**Chapter 7**

' **Wake Up'**

x

x

AN: _Nothing much to say. A chapter that easily wrote itself basically._

x

* * *

x

A day minus 248

x

On board of Selmak's shuttle the atmosphere was unpleasant as SG-1 and their Tok'ra pilot returned from their failed mission. The only ones not depressed where Jonas Quinn and Sam, who were busy crunching numbers as to what the Saiyans newly revealed transformation could mean.

Jack however was in a particular foul mood, just gazing out of the window into hyper space Teal'c wasn't into much of a talkative mood either. Probably brooding something along the lines of having failed his teacher.

"I still don't understand," Jonas said to Sam in the back of the shuttle's cockpit, "I thought Saiyans transformed into apes under a full moon?"

"That's what all our sources say," Sam replied, "But there is much more we don't know."

"No small thanks to that asshole," O'Neill grumbled, "That's another thing he hid from us."

"Wouldn't you, Jack?" Jacob said fiddling with his controls, "How many things have you hidden from the Tok'ra? How many things are you still hiding from us?"

"That's different," Jack said, looking at Jacob, "You guys keep a lot of secrets from us as well."

"A little trust goes a long way, Jack," Jacob smiled, "the less you use, the further you'll go. He's no different in that then we are."

"You're remarkably cavalier about it," Jack asked the Tok'ra, who shrugged.

"Can't change what I cannot change, Jack. Like Sam said, all our sources say Saiyans change into apes, they don't get a golden make over. The guy also claims he lived for thousands of years. Who knows, maybe he picked up a trick or two that set him apart from the pack?"

"If only we knew where he went," Jack muttered, then he resumed his thousand mile stare into hyperspace again.

"I think we'll find out sooner or later," Jacob said, "And I have a hunch it will be sooner then later."

"I just don't like being played for a fool," Jack said, "Neither by that Saiyan freak, or by Anubis."

"Do you think with that transformation he could take on the Majin?" Jonas asked Sam. Who looked uncertain.

"I have no idea," she said unsure, "even before it was always hard to put an upper limit to his strength. The sources claim the ape transformation gave them a tenfold increase. As long as I have no multiplication factor it could be anything up from…."

Beep beep beep beep…

A loud beeping noise could be heard coming from somewhere on the Tok'ra's control panel.

"What's that?" Jack asked, again halting his glare into hyperspace to look over his shoulder.

"It's a Tok'ra communication," Jacob said using his Selmak voice, "The Tok'ra High Command is trying to communicate with us."

"Isn't that dangerous," Sam asked as she stood up and moved closer to her father.

"Indeed," the Tok'ra said as he began to respond to the hail, "It's only done in case of a catastrophic emergency."

"You think Anubis has used the Majin to attack the Tok'ra?" Jonas asked concerned.

"I don't think so," Selmak said as he browsed through the data package, then he activated a holographic projection of the milky way, with five dots flashing spread all across the milky way in a random pattern.

"What's that?" Jack asked.

"The Tok'ra High Command has learned that all communications have been lost to these worlds, two of which had Tok'ra operatives," Selmak explained as he pointed to the glowing dots, "They think someone attacked these planets and they want us to investigate."

"Do you think it's the Majin?" Jonas asked as he studied the hologram.

"Not unless Anubis has just turned on his own allies," Selmak replied, "Those are all homeworlds of Goa'uld Systemlords who have sided with Anubis. Oh, and I read here that unless the Majin changed its color from pink to gold there's no way Anubis is behind these attacks.

x

* * *

x

"Weren't you supposed to be in Cleveland?"

Giles had just started on yet another round of studying the Gypsy Prophecies when somebody rang the door. To his surprise it turned out to be Xander, Willow and Faith.

"We were," Xander said as he stepped inside, "then Willow clicked her heels three times and now we're back home."

"I uh, um, see," Giles said as the teens stepped inside, "Tea anyone?"

"That would be great, Giles," Willow said as she plopped down on his couch, next to Xander. Meanwhile Giles looked outside the door a few times, then he closed his front door and went into the kitchen.

"Don't take this as criticism from my part but there seems to be somebody missing. Did Spike betray you?" Giles called from the kitchen, then he peered out of the kitchen hopeful, "Please tell me he came to a very gruesome end?"

Xander and Willow looked at each other sheepishly.

"Could be," Xander finally said.

"They left him behind, Jeeves," Faith said accusingly, "They beat a hasty retreat and while Spike was fighting alongside us they abandoned him."

"It wasn't like that at all," Willow protested, then she looked at Giles as he came out of the kitchen carrying a tea pot, "We didn't mean to leave Spike behind. It was more like, um, confusing. And Spike didn't get the cue that he should have come with us."

"And how should he have known?" Faith bit back, "it wasn't like we agreed to a series of signals as to what to do."

"Like you would've cared," Willow countered angrily, "You went off on your own."

Faith's anger faded from her face. She did went off on her own. And she couldn't explain as to why. Maybe this was the time when she should come clean as to why she did. The dreams. The voice in her head.

 _Now is not the time, Faith._

"I…., uh…...," she stammered, then she averted her eyes.

"Maybe we should start at the beginning," Giles said as he reached for his phone, "I'm sure Major Riley and Piccolo would be very interested to hear the whole part as well."

x

* * *

x

As yet another world burned around him Belmovekk paused for a moment. The Goa'uld of this world had already been in the process of vacating his palace and it was only by sheer luck that Belmovekk had still managed to get this one. The next one he'd attack he probably wouldn't be so lucky.

He thought of going straight for the next one on the list. But that would mean leaving the former Goa'uld's First Prime behind to die. And he still had a message to deliver. While the message itself was now probably well known, the principle dictated that there still had to be a messenger to prove the point. Thus the First Prime had to be safe guarded.

The Saiyan thought of taking the First Prime to a safe location, before going on the next target. But he decided against it. It would still mean an additional delay. So instead he encapsulated the unconscious First Prime in a bubble of chi, one that would time out in about an hour. After which it should be safe again for the Jaffa to make his journey to the Stargate. Or be rescued by one of the ships cowering at the edge of this star's solar system.

He was about to leave when not far from him in the sky a dark circle began to form, which then erupted like a Stargate in a geyser of dark energy. Seeing it happen Belmovekk began to gather in his energy.

It would seem he was finally getting an answer.

As the dark geyser retreated and formed a stable event horizon the pink creature Jonas had called the Majin emerged.

"So this is Anubis' answer?" Belmovekk said as golden flames of chi grew to a new level and he rose into the air to meet the newcomer.

"Hhgggggggggh!" the Majin hissed defiantly as the portal closed behind him and he saw the Saiyan rise towards. Then both fighters began to circle around each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move.

x

* * *

x

When Piccolo entered the former Librarian's home he knew at least something was going on. Not only were the other Slayer's boyfriend and his deputy present, so were the kids that had gone to Cleveland. But that at least he knew as he had felt these kids suddenly re-appear in Sunnydale, and with Xander pumped up to the max in particular..

There was no usual of greeting of hey Pickles, or Jolly Green, just weary faces. Faith seemed relieved to see him but after a brief nod she resumed her thousand miles stare.

"Where's the vampire?" he asked, then he looked at the kids, "did he betray you?"

"Only by being stupid," Xander said sullen.

"The geniuses left him behind," Faith said, earning dirty looks from the sorceress.

"Now, let us not, um, make recriminations," Giles said as he brought refreshments from his kitchen, "Mistakes are often made on the field of battle."

"I could write a whole book about those," Sergeant-Major Burns said.

"So what exactly happened?" Piccolo asked. Upon which Xander began to explain what had happened to them in the Initiative underground bunkers. How the Initiative had found the remains of Android #13 and used Gero's technology to build their own. And how they inadvertently had copied Gero's programming as well, causing their own creations to turn against them. And that #13 reborn was still hell bent on fulfilling his original mission.

But what caused the greatest shock was when Giles learned that his former boss, Quentin Travers, had conspired to work with the Initiative against them.

"I can't believe it," Giles said aghast, "Quentin Travers conspiring against us?"

"I guess he wasn't as fooled by our little stunt as we thought he was," Xander remarked before continuing.

"Jesus Christ on a pogo stick!" the sergeant-major said out loud, "What a grade A clusterfuck these spooks have gotten themselves in."

"And unfortunately a mess we have to clean for them," Riley said as he shook his head, then he faced Burns, "How many trainees could we deploy?"

"With all due respect, sir," Burns protested and pointed to the kids, "If need be we could throw them all at these cyborgs. But if these kids couldn't even defeat that thing, what chance do we have? It be the Battle of Sunnydale all over again."

"We do what we can," Riley said straight-faced.

"We have to bring in Goku," Giles suddenly said.

"Call in the big guns?" Riley said looking at the former librarian, then he shrugged, "might as well do so, these loons cooked up a big one."

"Isn't that too much?" Willow asked cautiously, then she nodded towards Piccolo, "We have him, right?"

"I don't like being the one who runs for help, but I don't think we have a choice, Will," Xander replied, "We're outclassed here and our own resident Saiyan's outta town. We need to outsource. You didn't fight this thing. Spike was at least as strong as me and Frankenborg out there is way stronger then Sparky."

"No!"

All eyes turned to Piccolo.

"I will not deal with this…, this thing," the Namek said as he turned around and made for the door, "Nor will I allow for Goku to be brought in."

Not sure what to make of this sudden turn of events everybody started to eye each other. Then Faith stood up and went after Piccolo.

"But Jolly Green," she protested, "we need…."

Piccolo stopped and looked over his broad shoulder piece.

"My name is Piccolo," he growled, "Not Jolly Green, or Pickles or whatever you lot think is entertaining. I am Piccolo Daimyo, the Demon King, and neither I, nor Goku will take care of this mess for you. Belmovekk asked me to take care of you and I will. Even if its not in the way he thought I would. Learn to deal with it on your own."

And with that Piccolo left Giles' home.

"What give?" Willow said flabbergasted as she looked bewildered around herself.

"He's got to be kidding, right," Xander said equally bewildered, then he looked at Faith, "Please tell me he's kidding?"

"He ain't," Faith said as she returned to the chair she had come from and plopped down again, "it's classic Jolly Green. As he said, learn to deal with it on your own. This is the guy who left a five year old to fend for himself in the wilderness for six months."

"Yeah, but he was still evil back then, wasn't he?" Xander asked still disbelieving what just had happened, "Surely he mellowed out?"

Faith pretended to look around.

"I don't see a wilderness," she said, "So I guess he did mellow out."

Riley got up from his chair.

"We have to go," he said to Burns, "We have to warn the SGC and Area 51 that they're going to be under attack."

"Short of a nuclear strike on Cleveland I fail to see what we can do, sir," Burns sighed as he got up.

"They'll figure out something," Riley said as reached for his jacket, "If they can stop alien invasions they might be able to come up with a way to stop this cyborg."

"Their luck has to run out at some point though," Burns said quietly, more to himself.

"Then let's hope there's still some left," Riley replied.

The two soldiers were about to leave Giles' home as well when Xander got up.

"Wait a second," he said to the two soldiers, then he faced everybody, "Maybe Piccolo has a point. And so does Riley here. It's not about being the strongest all the time, it's about being the smartest. If we can't defeat that thing, well, maybe we can outsmart it."

"That's a big maybe, Xander," Giles said.

"Well, you still got your books," Xander said pointing the bookcases behind them, "we still have a powerful sorceress who once channeled a God, we have your knowledge, we have a Slayer and we have Riley and his army buddies. If we together can't come up with a plan to stop this Frankenborg reject then the world truly deserves to die."

Giles looked around the room, then back at Xander. The teen looked so dead earnest. And he was right in some respect. You had to learn to work with what you had instead of wishing for you could have. That was how Watchers used to train their Slayers. Before they became dependent on Saiyans.

"You have a point," Giles conceded, then he sighed, "I wish I found something I could use in those prophecies. Some clue I could use."

"Sometimes you just can't pierce the fog of war," Riley said as he and Burns returned to their seats, "Sometimes you have to take things in stride and use what you have instead of wish for what you don't have."

Xander turned to Willow.

"Can't you do sorcery, Will?" he asked, "Maybe extract whatever's powering this thing and make him into an ex-energizer bunny?"

"You just can't use sorcery to do that," Willow said shaking her head, "If you can't rip it just out, neither can I. I wouldn't even know what to look for."

"Didn't you do a memory dump of that Initiative computer?" Xander said as he pointed towards the bag that held her laptop

"You're right," Willow said as her face lit up, then she opened her bag and fired up her laptop.

"You mean you have actual information taken from their network?" Riley said in disbelief as he went to stand behind her laptop as it booted up.

"I did manage to break into their network," Willow said after her laptop had finished booting up, then she began to look through the files she had downloaded. For five minutes she glanced through the files, opening files and scrolling through them for information at an incredible rate.

"I can't belief you're doing that so quickly," Riley said in a mixture of disbelief and admiration, "Is that because you can do magic?"

"No," Willow said absentmindedly, "I could do this before as well."

"I can vouch for that," Xander said, "Will's wicked with a computer."

"I'd attest to that if I actually knew how those infernal things work," Giles responded as Riley looked at him.

"Is that Windows 98 or Millennium?" Burns asked as he looked at Willow's laptop. Strange as may seem to those who knew him, the sergeant-major actually knew something about computers.

"Please," Willow snorted derisively, "Window's for amateurs."

"A Unix based system then?" the sergeant-major suggested interested.

"I'm beyond Unix," Willow said, then she stopped clicking and turned around, "There's nothing in here about this, this thing. Only the stuff they had on us.

"Then I guess we're back at square one," Riley said.

"Not necessarily," Willow said as she rummaged in her bag and pulled out a cable which she gave to Xander, "could you, Xander?"

"Sure, Will," Xander said and then looked around for a moment before turning towards Giles, "Giles, where's your phone connection?"

"Over there," Giles said as he pointed to a corner, then he turned to Willow, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going online, Giles," Willow replied all businesslike, "I still have those Initiative passwords and now that I know where they are I'm just going to log in from here."

Giles looked at her in utter disbelief, then at Xander pulling the cable through the room, then back at Willow.

"I may not know much about, um, computers," Giles said frowning, "but, um, don't you need an internet connection to connect to the internet? And I don't have one."

"Sure you do," Willow replied, "I'm using it right now. Thanks Xander!"

"You're welcome." Xander said as he got up again. Giles followed the cable to where Xander had hooked it up next to his telephone connection and noticed a small box. He had no idea what it was but he'd bet good money it was something computer related.

"When did this happen?" he said incredulously.

"Last year, after the high school got trashed," Willow said, "I thought since we're gathering here half the time it might be useful."

"But…., I….," Giles said flabbergasted, not sure how to respond.

"Afraid it will ruin your precious books?" Xander smiled as he patted the former librarian's shoulder, "Don't worry, they survived the school's LAN system, didn't they?"

"Why do I even bother?" Giles muttered, then he went back into the kitchen, "I'm getting some tea."

x

* * *

x

Damn this was hard, Buffy thought as she fought the magic that these so called priests were unleashing on her. She was strong though. She could take it.

For a while.

She sure wished Belmo would hurry up though. In the nick of time might look good in the movies, but in this case she wouldn't mind a spoiled ending.

The only thing that annoyed her more then the crazy cackling of that Goold, Newby one of those stupid priests had called him, and those crazy priests chanting were those muffled screams coming from somewhere else. It was highly…. distracting.

x

* * *

x

"I'm in," Willow said from behind her laptop.

"Hacker girl to the rescue," Xander said as he ruffled her hair as he looked over her shoulder as Willow brought up data.

"And to think we actually worried about what would happen if these people were to turn against us and use their powers," Burns whispered to Riley, "Turns out she could simply hack into our systems and we wouldn't even notice it. "

"Luckily not everybody in the army's as computer illiterate as you, sergeant-major," Riley replied as he read the data, "I'm sure we have a few clever people as well."

"If you say so, sir," Burns replied back, not sounding that convinced. Nor that insulted about his computer skills. He knew enough to know that compared to the girl he really was illiterate.

"I think I found something," Willow said and pointed to a schematic on the screen.

"I think you do," Riley said, "It's similar to the shield on the Enterprise. That's a Goa'uld shield emitter."

"He's got shields? Real shields?" Xander said incredulously, then he looked at Riley, "We got a spaceship called the Enterprise?"

Sighing one more time Riley ignored the teen and continued to look at the screen.

"I think that could be his source of power," she said.

"Holy crap!" Riley exclaimed as he saw what she had uncovered, "that's a naquadria reactor combined with a Gero type fusion reactor."

"That's bad, right?" Xander asked worried.

"Why go for two different power sources?" Willow asked as she looked at Riley, "Isn't a single source much better?"

"I don't know," Riley said unsure, "I just know what, well, that's classified. Suffice to say that a lot of research has gone into unlocking how Gero powered his androids, and while they can power a small city for a lifetime, the design seems flawed."

"In what way?"

"Lemme guess," Xander interjected, "your eggheads don't know how to tune it up any further?"

Shooting an annoyed glance towards Xander Riley continued.

"In a way. Not enough to propel a ship through hyperspace. A naquadria reactor on the other hand can do that. But that stuff is extremely hard to come by. It also wouldn't last him a lifetime."

"Quite clever then," Xander nodded, "He's got the Gero reactor to power him for forever, and in case of an emergency he's got that naqua-something to give him a boost."

"It's naquadria," Riley corrected, "And it's also highly unstable. If through some chance you do manage to blow this guy up without destroying Cleveland you still will."

Xander glanced upwards and sighed.

"Never too much fun at my expense, do you, guys?" he muttered softly.

"So now we must also come up with a way to not only defeat this monstrosity _and_ at the same time prevent its powercore from blowing up," Giles said sipping some tea., "Marvelous."

"What about magic?" Willow suggested, "Maybe some kind of, I don't know...naquadria extracting spell?

Everybody gave her a weird look.

"You can do that?" Burns said flabbergasted.

"I know. I'm reaching," Willow said as she saw the looks on everybody's faces.

"Is that stuff native to Earth," Giles asked Riley, who shook his head.

"It only exists on a single planet in the galaxy," the major replied.

"Then I don't think such a spell has a chance of existing," Giles said as he finished his cup of tea.

"Maybe something else?" Xander suggested and looked hopeful at Giles, "Anything?"

"Perhaps," Giles said as he stood up and walked towards one of his bookshelves and pulled out a book.

"Maybe a paralyzing spell could do the trick," he said as he opened his book, then he stopped, "Only I can't perform the incantation for this."

"Maybe I can?" Willow said as her eyes began to glisten in hope.

"Not unless you can speak it fluently in Sumerian, are an experienced witch and are within striking distance of this, um, thing?" Giles replied.

"Bummer," Xander said.

"But you could teach me, right?" Willow said, "I could learn to pronounce it. And with my own shield I could…"

Giles shook his head.

"Your pronunciation would have to be perfect. That's why I said an experienced witch could do it. And you are still far from being an experienced witch."

"Isn't there something sorcery could do instead?" Xander asked.

"I don't know what," Willow said shaking her head, "Sorcery is a test of will. And judging by these designs he's got two reactors full of it."

The three looked helplessly at each other.

"You should have taken Sumerian instead of French in class, Will," Xander said

"A little late for that now, don't you think, Xander?" Willow countered annoyed.

"You guys are really up shit creek," Burns said and pointed to the three Scoobies, "She's got the magic, he's got the brains and he's got the muscles. if you three could melt into a single fighter you could probably kick this guy's ass, but now….:"

Giles suddenly looked at the sergeant-major.

"Just making an observation," Burns said expecting a disparaging remark. Instead the former librarian looked at his books again.

"Actually, you might be on to something," he said as he pulled another book from his bookshelf, then he paused before opening, "Only we need the Slayer for that."

"If only Buffy were here," Willow sighed mournfully.

"What are you guys blabbering on about," Xander said and pointed towards Faith, still sitting on the couch, "the Slayer sits right over there."

"Xander," Willow said softly towards, "Giles said we need _the_ Slayer, not _a_ Slayer."

Faith wanted to say something but then didn't. Meanwhile Xander walked to the couch and stood behind Faith, then he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Look, I don't know where you all got this idea that somehow Buffy's the Slayer and Faith's the understudy," he said, "But when Buffy died for a few minutes it was enough for Kendra to be activated. And when Kendra died Faith was activated. Don't you guys get it? Faith's not the understudy, If anyone's _the_ Slayer, it's not Buffy, it's Faith. So anything that will work on Buffy will also work on Faith and the other way."

Willow wanted to protest, more out of some kind of loyalty towards Buffy then an actual rebuff, but Giles stopped her.

"In his usual clumsy way Xander's right," he said, "They're _both_ the Slayer. Faith, will you help us?"

Faith looked at Giles, then at Xander still holding her shoulders.

"Yes," she said, her voice choking just a little as Xander gave her an encouraging squeeze.

"What do you have in mind, Giles," Riley asked the former librarian. Who then told them what he had in mind. As soon as he did Riley gasped for air, as did Burns.

"You've got to be kidding," Riley said in utter disbelief, "you don't actually think that will work, right?"

"Actually it's an extremely dangerous spell," Giles said dead serious, "but I don't think we have any other option."

"I'm still going to bring in every trained soldier we have," Riley said.

"You do that," Giles said, "as long as they buy us the time to perform the spell all help is appreciated."

"I can't believe it," Burns exclaimed and pointed towards Faith, "We're going to have to put our fate in the hands of that murdering bitch?"

"Sergeant-Major," Riley said calmly, "Can it."

"But….," Burns protested, "Her former boss, what about Jenkins, François, and the others, who are still dead because of her treachery. Don't they count?"

"Sergeant-Major Montgomery Burns," Riley shouted, "Do as you are told. That's an order!"

Burns stood to attention and saluted.

"Yes sir!" he shouted back. But it was clear he did so with great reluctance.

The whole exchange had hurt Faith. Again her past was haunting her. Then she felt something in her mind.

 _See? They cannot be trusted._

This was the second time she felt it speak inside her mind since returning to Sunnydale. Now it really began to worry her. She should really speak up and tell the others that it was speaking to her. Especially with G.'s crazy plan.

Yet as soon as she tried to open her mouth she felt unable to speak out. Xander however saw her trying to speak.

"Don't worry," he said misunderstanding her reticence as guilt, "No matter what he thinks, he's still a soldier. And they know the chain of command. If Riley tells him to shut up, he will."

But that was not what I meant, Faith tried to say. Instead she said nothing. Instead another word popped up in her mind.

 _Soon!_

x

* * *

x

On what used to be the capital world of the Goa'uld Herishef his First Prime awoke within the burned remains of his former Lord's palace. Reaching for his head with one hand and trying to steady himself with the other Herishef's First Prime tried to make sense of what had happened. And then he remembered.

The Golden Alien!

As he looked around himself Herishef's First Prime saw nothing but a vast plain of burned rubble and debris of what was once a shining city, a capital to his living God.

Oh dear lord, he had failed, failed his God!

Tears welled up in his eyes as the realization that his God was no more hit him. He wanted to bury his face in the ashes and cry out to the heavens. Herishef was no more!

DOOM!

A massive explosion rocked the very planet he was on and shook the First Prime from his grief. No sooner followed by a massive gust of wind as the shockwave of the explosion followed, nearly blasting the First Prime away with its gust and the ash and sand it contained.

As the wind passed Herishef's First Prime turned around and looked into the skies. They were still heavily filled with ash clouds but then he saw it. Something that moved impossibly fast, then came to a dead stop and a small shockwave erupted as two forces collided with great vigor. Then two streaks, one golden, one white, spiraled around each other upwards, little eruptions of displaced energy causing smaller shockwaves along the way. Then another massive shockwave erupted high in the sky and something fell into the ground with great speed, causing a small earthquake to happen and a crater to be formed.

Then the golden streak slammed into the crater, only to be greeted by a massive purple blast that shot it back into the sky. In the wake of the purple blast the white streak shot up from the crater again and the two forces clashed again. Next it rained golden orbs of death that landed on the planet's surface in the distance. As they landed they exploded in massive blasts, brighter then the local sun and the First Prime had to take cover behind a large boulder that was by now all that was left of Herishef's palace.

It took for a moment but eventually strong winds began to blast the First Prime's position again, who was fortunate enough that the large boulder proved enough protection from the strong winds and debris that now blasted his position.. Unfortunately it didn't provide him shelter against the almost unbearable heat that came with the winds.

Somehow the First Prime survived the onslaught, he had been after all a tough veteran of the many wars Herishef had waged. As the winds settled again there was no sign of the two combatants high in the sky.

But he did saw a field of mushroom clouds rising into the sky where the explosions had taken place, adding more ash and debris to the already heavily polluted atmosphere.

Tentatively the First Prime got up from behind the boulder and looked around him. Literally half the horizon was filled with rising mushroom clouds and the onset of a rapidly approaching thunderstorm as the planet's atmosphere tried to get rid of all the debris and discharge that had built up.

Seeing that discretion was the better part of valor after one's God had died the First Prime ran away. Hoping that through some miracle the Chappa'ai had survived. Like all Goa'uld Herishef had not built his palace next to the gate, or built his palace around it, in case of attack through the Stargate. But it was still relatively close to be in walking distance. If you were put through your paces.

Or in the First Prime's case, had death itself on hot pursuit.

So far the two powers seemed oblivious to his presence, like a Jaffa was oblivious to the presence of small crawling insects on the floor around him. But that did not mean nobody stepped on a small crawling insect by accident.

After running for what seemed like forever the First Prime's hopes began to grow again as he saw the round circle of the Cha'pa'ai standing in the distance. Somehow it had survived. Like he had.

He was close now, just past a hill with the Cha'pa'ai over the next one when suddenly something purple streaked over his head towards the Cha'pa'ai.

"Nooooo!" the First Prime wailed, then instinct took over and he let himself fall to the ground. Just in time as a massive blast erupted on the other side of the hill.

BOOM!

As the earth trembled the First Prime clung to the dirt for all his might. Being in a small valley shielded him from the brunt of the explosion. But not the shower of earth and debris that rained down on him. For what seemed like forever the shower continued, then it abated and finally stopped.

Nearly completely covered in dirt the First Prime raised his head, then he got up and continued his run for the Cha'pa'ai. Climbing up the hill he stumbled at least three times as he found his left leg refused to cooperate. Glancing briefly at his leg he noticed a large tear in his leg armor and a laceration caked with blood and dirt still oozing blood. A piece of shrapnel stuck from the wound as well.

No time for that now though as the First Prime dragged himself up the hill towards the Cha'pa'ai. And on top of the hill he stopped.

In front of him where the Cha'pa'ai should have been, there was nothing left. The once indomitable seeming device, one that would stand the test of time, was no more. Just a large crater where it had once stood.

Defeated the First Prime let himself fall on the ground and looked in disbelief at the crater. It was over.

When he finally noticed the golden orb of death that came right towards him he didn't even make an effort to escape. Instead he welcomed death. At least his God and comrades would be waiting for him on the other side.

x

* * *

x

Belmovekk had been fighting the Majin now for more then an hour and found to his dismay that they were evenly matched. Even when he had gone all the way to his max the Majin was still more powerful. Of course it didn't help that he had spent way too much time in Super Saiyan state eradicating planets.

On the other hand the Majin was all about raw power and lacked skill, preferring to use that raw power instead. So for as long as Belmovekk utilized his greater knowledge and experience to his advantage the two of them were equal.

It clearly frustrated the Majin to no end, but hey, that was his bane to carry. Not being able to utilize all his experience and techniques into victory was Belmovekk's bane.

Still, a battle like this was the wet dream of every Saiyan. The very idea of finding the perfect opponent to whom you were so evenly matched was the highest ideal of Saiyan martial arts and whole volumes of song and literature had been created to that very concept. It sang in the blood of every Saiyan and even despite millennia of having the more absurd parts of his culture slowly eroded from his being not even Belmovekk was immune to its lure.

As he fought the Majin a chorus swelled up from his blood that swelled up to epic levels inside his mind. It was the sound of all his ancestors, of the whole Saiyan race as they sang songs of blood, songs of encouragement, songs of war, songs of glory and songs of death. It was something Belmovekk and every Saiyan heard as they engaged into holy combat and when they had to dig deep for strength. It was something that Belmovekk had spent a long time trying to ignore because it made Saiyans do stupid things.

Except now that he was up to his max it sang for his attention like never before. Telling him this was his moment. This was what he was born for.

Horse piss!

He had no time to give in to his inner Saiyan. He had to come up with a way to defeat this demon so he could get to Anubis. He had to safe Buffy.

Ignoring the logic of that alone, how else would he face the wrath of his wife? After all, she had told him to either return together or not at all.

So he soldiered on. Trying to come up with ways defeat this demon as they traded blow for blow, kick for kick and blast for blast. And getting nowhere.

But damn was this fun!

But as the Saiyan fought to contain his Saiyan nature and let excitement get the better of him, the Majin looked visibly more and more frustrated. Whatever the hell it was and whatever strange and demonic powers it possessed, patience wasn't one of its virtues.

It growled and snarled possible obscenities at the Saiyan in whatever the hell passed for its native language. If it had any. It lashed out at the Saiyan with its strange almost mitten like hands but the Saiyan just managed to stay out of reach. Most of the time. It used his feet to kick towards the Saiyan but he managed to evade most kicks. At least the powerful ones.

The blasts were dangerous as the Majin literally seemed to have power to spare in that respect, showering the planet below them with destructive energy in the philosophy that if fired enough energy blasts it might hit the retreating Saiyan.

Of course it occasionally did hit the retreating Saiyan.

Hurting from untold bruises and scrapes the Saiyan tried to counter attack. And deftly was confronted when the demon counter counter attacked with its large tail like appendage on its head.

Somehow that appendage scared Belmovekk the most. Like he instinctively knew bad juju would happen if that thing ever were to touch him. That it was better to be hit ten, twenty times by the creatures feet and fists then just once by its head tail.

And yet as he evaded the demon's head tail his face ran into the demon's fist. So it knew about his reticence in regards to that appendage, Belmovekk thought as he evaded a follow up kick and used his left hand to fire a quick chi blast to cover his retreat. It was learning. He had to take that into account. And maybe use that to his advantage.

For a minute he fought and evaded the demon like before. Causing much more chagrin to the creature. Then he counter attacked like before, coming a little too close. And like before the head appendage lashed out and like before Belmovekk recoiled for its touch. And like before the demon used the Saiyan's revulsion to strike with its other appendages.

Only this time Belmovekk was prepared, blocked the strike and used the demon's confusion to drive it's knee in its gut. His knee struck home with so much force the demon buckled up, giving the Saiyan the opportunity strike him on the back with both hands, causing the demon to fall to the ground and create a large crater.

The Saiyan dove after the thing in the hope that this time he had struck a decisive blow. But he had been there before and ended up eating energy attack instead. So he used a slightly offside course to dive after the demon.

Which turned out just as well cause if he had flown in a straight course he would have gotten a face full of that purple energy beam that now just missed him. So that was a big no on having delivered a decisive strike. Was there no stopping this thing?

Unleashing an energy beam of his own Belmovekk began to pump energy into the crater, creating a golden zone of pure death around that thing as he literally tried to cook the bastard alive.

It was to no avail however as the golden zone suddenly expended and then broke up, sending shards of golden chi into every direction, detonating on impact. And as the dust settled Belmovekk could see the demon as it had its arms outstretched to support a shimmering shield.

Was there no stopping this thing?

Panting heavily Belmovekk took stock of the situation. This was going to be a real battle of attrition. A battle that would take time. And time was something that Buffy didn't have. Only Aldur knew what that freak Anubis was doing to her right now. It called for desperate measures.

He would have to break out his emergency senzu bean.

Maybe if he restored his own energy again and lost his fatigue he would finally be able to finish this thing off and then take on Anubis.

He reached inside his own shirt and pulled out the small locket that hung on a chain around his neck. Crushing the small metal locket he took out the senzu bean that was in it and popped it in his mouth. As he chewed he assumed a fighting stance and challenged the demon to come towards him.

"Bring it on."

The demon on the other hand thought otherwise. It suddenly took off in the opposite direction. And Belmovekk, fully reinvigorated, gave chase. But then he saw what the demon had in mind. The damn thing was trying to escape!

It had opened a portal in the distance and was hauling ass towards it. And even with his energy fully restored Belmovekk found it hard to keep up with the demon, let alone overtake it.

"Nooooooo!" the Saiyan yelled as he saw the demon fly through the portal. Then it closed after him, leaving the Saiyan alone on a ruined planet.

"NO!" Belmovekk yelled angry as he hung there in the air, right underneath a thundercloud. His chi caused the cloud to discharge while he gave outing to his frustration.

"I will find you, demon!" he yelled amidst the roar of thunder erupting around him, "I know your chi now!"

Indeed did he now know the demon's chi signature. You do not fight with an opponent of that magnitude and not pick up on it. But how to find it again a galaxy 25.000 light-years across?

And then it hit on him. He even began to chortle.

"You made a terrible mistake, Anubis, releasing your pet demon. For now I will find you. Through him."

Then Belmovekk brought two fingers to his forehead and closed his eyes to concentrate.

And then he vanished.

x

* * *

x

The first thing Riley did as he landed in the Air Force base was make for his office while he set Burns to rally the troops. On the way back to the base the sergeant-major hadn't said a word other then respond to Riley's orders. A part of Riley feared that he may have ruined their friendship by siding with the Dark Slayer. Another part knew that there was no time to play touchy feely, that there was a job to be done and that such things were best mended over a cold beer afterwards.

As he stormed into the HQ building the duty officer arose.

"Sir?" he said and reached for a clip board, "There have been several calls for you by Washington from General War…."

"I have no time for that," Riley said as he walked right past the duty officer to his office, "Get me Jamison in Bragg on the phone. The secure one."

"But sir, the general was quite…." the duty officer tried to protest but Riley gave him a death glare that told him to shut up. Nobody pissed off the major and not suffer the consequences of it. Except perhaps maybe his girlfriend. And the major had made plenty of 'object lessons' out of people who thought that his smart mouthed girlfriend made for funny after hours talk.

"I will get Major Jamison for you, sir," the duty officer said as he swallowed.

Riley entered his office and made for his desk. There he sat down on his chair and waited for the call to be put through.

Which it soon did.

"I have Major Jamison on the line for you, sir," the duty officer's voice said through the speaker.

"Put him through," Riley said.

"Riley, you scum bucket," a thick accented voice spoke from the speaker, "why the hell are you calling me this late? Please tell me it's not an emergency and that you've finally come to your senses and that you're joining the Corps?"

"And go Semper Fi all the time?" Riley snorted as a smile crept on his face, "Thanks but no thanks, Jamison. I like the Army way too much to become a Leatherneck. I was born green, remember?"

"Suit yourself, you army puke," Jamison voice laughed on the other side. The Marine had been one of the top Earth soldiers handpicked by Belmovekk to be trained in the art of chi fighting. At first just what he had called the Auxiliary Training Program. The training Saiyans gave to auxiliaries from their subjugated worlds. But the training program was also specifically designed to keep those who were trained at a certain level. One that lay far below of even the lowliest program.

As he began to train and get to know his trainees their Saiyan teacher had begun to like the men he was training. And halfway through the program he had shown them where the deliberate pitfalls were, meant to keep them at that deliberate low level. He even had begun to teach them the first basic katas or forms of Saiyan martial arts. Which were totally extra-curricular.

And occasionally those members of the original group that had survived both the training _and_ the Battle of Sunnydale still returned for some additional private lessons. Such was the bond between Belmovekk's Bastards and their Satiya.

"So there's an emergency," Jamison said through the speakerphone, "Is our Satiya in trouble?"

The Marine actually sounded worried.

"Could be," Riley sighed, "He's gone off world with the SGC."

Riley then proceeded to give Jamison the gist of what had happened.

"Lemme get this straight," the Marine said as he tried to make sense of what he had just heard, "So some Spooks have begun their own program to create super soldiers using the technology they got from #13's remains. And now the Bastard's programming has subverted their base and taken possession of their uber-cyborg? And you thought it was a good idea to let these kids go off to Cleveland on their own?"

"You make it sound like it's some cheesy TV show," Riley protested.

"No it sounds like you've slept too much with Satiya's stepdaughter and her stupid has rubbed off on you," the Marine's voice said over the speaker, then his voice sighed, "What do you want me to do?"

"Send every man you have towards Cleveland," Riley said, "We're going back there as well and this time we'll finish the job."

Jamison didn't immediately reply.

"And bypass the chain of command?" he finally said incredulously, "Are you insane? We have to evacuate Cleveland. We can't have another Battle of Sunnydale, only this time in Cleveland. We were lucky in Sunnydale that only so few people died. There are almost half a million of people in that city alone. A million in the greater Cleveland area. That's a lot of people to be trusting to luck."

"There's no time," Riley said, "That thing's going to launch an attack against Area 51 and the SGC to reclaim the remains of the other two. If it gets their diskeys Gero will know we're on to him. We could lose a whole lot more then Cleveland if that happens."

"How on Earth can I send 150 trainees to Cleveland without Washington and the SGC noticing?"

"Just tell your superiors you're taking them on a field ex," Riley said, "Satiya did it all the time, remember?"

"Intimately," Jamison's voice snorted, then he sighed, "Alright, I'll do it. I'll kick Mike out of bed and rally the trainees. Will you be bringing your bunch as well."

"Just a squad," Riley replied, "Burns will take the rest to Groom Lake in case those cyborgs make it there. They cannot be allowed to get access to those diskeys."

"We could have really used them," Jamison said wistfully, "would have doubled our strength."

"It's not up to us to decide this," Riley said, "It's up to these kids."

"All the more reason to have your bunch with us," the Marine major said, "Riley, do you trust this Faith? She did betray us before, remember? Well, not us personally, but she did go over to the Dark Side."

Riley didn't immediately respond. To be frank he had his own doubts. Once a traitor….

Of course it was more of what she represented, a deadly past, as he didn't really know her. She did seem full of regret though. Who knows, she might actually want to turn over a new leaf.

He couldn't tell Jamison though of his doubts. He knew Jamison. If he did there was no way the Marine would send his men to Cleveland.

"I think she's on the level," Riley said deadpan.

"You do know I'm trusting the lives of my men to your judgment, Riley," the Marine said in earnest, "And I will personally kick your ass to hell if she gets us killed, your Army rat!"

"Like you could," Riley snorted derisively, "Bragg may have better training grounds then Sunnydale, but this place does have its perks, you know."

"Yeah, I know," Jamison replied, "You get to bang Satiya's daughter. And private lessons with him I assume? So are you going to call the others?. I'm pretty sure they'd hate to miss the party."

"Last thing I heard Jake, Johansen and Spencer were still off planet with SG-41," Riley said.

"What about our foreign friends?" the Marine asked, "Tony was pretty pissed he had to miss Satiya's wedding. That Limey bastard would cross the Atlantic in a heartbeat, taking his trainees with him. Always helpful in a fight those Brits. As would Jürgen and Andre."

"I would if I think it would be of help," Riley said, "But I think this will be all over and decided by the time they'd get here."

"Suit yourself," Jamison said, "I'll tell Mike you said hi. Belmovekk's Bastards!"

"Belmovekk's Bastards!" Riley replied. Then the Marine hung up, leaving Riley to think things over for a moment. He had lied to his friend. Those damn kids better come through for him.

Then outside he could hear the sounds of troops getting rallied as Burns roused the men. Burns could handle that part. Riley had a different part to fulfill. There were still a few more phone calls to make.

x

* * *

x

"Nervous?" Willow asked.

"No way. I'm full of that good old kamikaze spirit," Xander replied as they waited outside in front of Giles' home.

"Xander, just because this is never gonna work, there's no need to be negative," Giles' replied from inside his home, then the former librarian emerged from his home carrying a carton box full of books and stuff which he put next to him on the ground, then he pulled out his keys to close the door.

"This enjoining spell, is it powerful enough to defeat Adam?" Willow asked.

"It's very powerful. It's also extraordinarily dangerous," Giles said as he stuck his keys in the lock, he almost turned them when he suddenly remembered something, "Oh dear."

"That oh dear doesn't exactly fill me much with confidence," Xander said, suppressing a mental shudder.

"Is there something wrong, Giles?" Willow asked worried.

"No, nothing wrong," Giles said absent minded, "I just forgot something."

"Then don't oh dear us like that," Xander said as he pretended to slap Giles, "You know every time you say that I get a heart attack."

"I shall endeavour to persevere," Giles said as he opened his front door and went inside.

"You do that!" Xander called after him, then he turned to Willow, "What does that mean?"

Inside his home Giles went to a small room containing his magic paraphernalia and retrieved a small bag of powder from a cabinet. Then he left the room and walked towards the front door. In doing so he passed the living room.

"Hello Rupert," a voice suddenly said, causing Giles to stop in his tracks.

"Who's there?" Giles said as he reached for the light switch, "I do have to warn you though, just by being here in my home you are in breach of the Edict."

As he turned around Giles switched on the light

Only to see someone sitting on the couch who was the last person he'd ever expect to see.

Doctor Daniel Jackson.

The late doctor Daniel Jackson.

"D…, d…, Doctor Jackson?" Giles stammered in utter surprise.

"Nice to see you as well," Daniel Jackson replied as he pointed to the opposite sofa, "please, sit. Let's talk. It's been a while, isn't it?"

"It is," Giles said flabbergasted and pointed over his shoulder, "I, uh, we, um…"

"I know," Daniel said understanding, "You and the others have to go to Cleveland. To fight Adam. A few minutes of your time won't hurt though."

Without thinking Giles sat down opposite the dead archaeologist.

"You know?" he asked, then his face turned surprised again, "Adam?"

"That's his name," Daniel smiled.

"I see," Giles said as he looked downwards, to the coffee table that was between them, then he looked up, "I thought you were dead? Aren't you dead?"

Daniel looked aside and pretended to think about it.

"In a fashion," he finally said, "I ascended to a higher plane. I'm a non corporeal being now."

"Really?" Giles said, "I mean, wow, that's, um, fascinating."

Daniel leaned forward.

"You wouldn't believe what I now know after I ascended," he whispered conspiratorially.

"I can believe, um, quite a, uh, lot," Giles said nervously.

"I know of the cosmic struggle, what Anubis is doing even now, of what the Initiative has done, what Adam is planning to do," Daniel leaned again forward, "And what you have done to me, Rupert. I remember it all again."

"Oh dear," Giles muttered as he reached for his glasses and cleaning cloth, "I was afraid you would."

"Relax, Rupert," Daniel said reassuringly, "I understand why you did it. And your prophecy did come true. Even though you stole most of my life, I did die of some stupid accident within less of a year anyway. So I forgive you."

Giles stopped polishing his glasses.

"You do?" he said surprised upon which Daniel shrugged. .

"No need to bear grudges once you learn the mystery of life, the universe and everything," Daniel smiled, "Besides, why bear a grudge towards someone when he's most likely going to die."

"Well, thanks I guess, of sorts," Giles replied, then something clicked in his mind, "You know what Adam is planning?"

"Like I said, once you ascend its like the fog gets lifted on everything," Daniel replied.

"Then tell us!" Giles asked, "Tell us what he plans to do so we can stop it."

Daniel looked away uncomfortably.

"It doesn't work like that," he said uneasy.

"Yes it does," Giles said, "you talk, I listen, an exchange of information takes place."

"I can't," Daniel said evasively, "I, um, we are bound by strict rules of non-intervention."

Giles looked upwards and rolled his eyes.

"It can never be easy, can it?" he muttered dejected.

"I want to help," Daniel said, "really I do. But the moment I break the rules, so can They."

"Then why dangle this particular titbit in front of me?" Giles said accusingly as he stood up, "Why waste my time at all?"

"Because forgiveness is a powerful force?" Daniel replied smiling uncomfortably.

Giles put his glasses back on.

"Look, Doctor Jackson, I find this whole exchange very much intriguing. And if I had the time I would love to have stayed and chatted about your new nature. But unfortunately I am hard pressed for time. And if you cannot help me defeat this…, this Adam, then maybe we should talk another time."

"I'm afraid there won't be another time," Daniel replied regretful, "This is all I'm permitted to do."

"Then I bid you farewell and a nice..., um, afterlife," Giles said as he was about to walk away."

"Wait," Daniel said and pointed to the coffee table, "You're forgetting your, um, little plastic bag of, uh, magical something."

Seeing the bag of powder lying on the table Giles suddenly remembered why he had re-entered his home in the first place.

"Thanks," he said shaking his head, "sometimes I can be so forgetful."

Then he picked up the bag, switched off the light and left his home.

"Glad to have been of service," Daniel said as he began to sport a big grin.

x

* * *

x

"And there he is," Xander said as he saw two SUV's drive up to Giles' home. As the two vehicles halted Riley stepped out of the lead car, soon followed by more men. Who, while all in civilian garb, had the unmistaken look of soldiers about them.

"Just in time," Xander said as behind him Giles emerged from his home and closed the front door.

"They do teach us to be punctual in the military, you know," Riley said as he pulled a duffel bag from the car.

"And to bring your own goon squad with you as well," Xander said as he eyed the soldiers.

"I thought it might be helpful to bring some extra help with us," Riley said.

"Burns not coming?" Xander asked.

"He got his orders to carry out," Riley replied as he walked past the car until he was in front of Xander, "Are we done playing 20 questions?"

"They were just two and a remark," Xander said, pretending to be insulted.

"So, where's Faith?" Riley asked as he looked around if he could see the missing Slayer.

"I'm here," a voice called out from above, next thing Faith somersaulted down from Giles' roof and landed next to them.

"Why were you up there?" Riley asked surprised.

"Now who's playing 20 questions," Faith grinned.

"It's her way," Xander said, "Probably picked it up from Pickles in the wilderness. He likes to hang out in strange places."

"Hey, it's good for thinking," Faith protested.

"See?" Xander said pointing towards Faith, "I rest my case."

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Willow asked Giles as he joined them. Giles at first didn't seem to hear her, as he was sunken in his thoughts, then he looked up.

"Oh, um, uh, yes I did," Giles said as he put a small packet of powder in his cardboard box, "Are we, um, ready to go?"

"Portal's been ready for at least five minutes," Willow said pointing a shimmering swirl in the air five meters away.

"And now that the US cavalry has arrived we're finally ready to go," Xander said.

"Then, um, let's go then," Giles said.

"Game faces, people," Faith said as she walked towards the portal, "We're going back in."

x

* * *

x

"Crap, that feels awful," one of Riley's soldiers said after he emerged on the other side of the portal in Cleveland.

"Like twisting your innards," another said.

"Sorry," Willow said apologetic, "There's this phase differential thingy that's hard to get the hang off. And then there's the different harmonics of the Sunnydale and Cleveland Hellmouths to take into account."

"At least we're here," Riley said as he looked around the dark parking lot they had emerged into, "Where are we?"

"By the looks of it the parking lot of the Ramada Inn motel," Xander said and pointed towards one of the cabins to the side, "that was our room."

"Ah, great," Willow said as she closed the portal and was about to start walking towards it, "I left some stuff in there I'd like to…."

"Wait, Red," Faith said as gripped Willow by her shoulder, "Why's the light still on?"

Faith was right as the lights were on in their room.

"She's right," Xander said, "I specifically remember turning the light off."

"Let's find out," Riley said as he pulled forth a gun and began to give hand signals to his men, who like a well oiled machine began to sneak up to the cabin. As soon as they reached the cabin they gathered in two groups on each side of the door.

"On three," he whispered, then he did a silent countdown using his fingers. Then the soldier opposite him kicked in the door and Riley stormed into the room.

Only to find Spike sitting on the bed watching television, then giving them an incredulous look.

"You could have just knocked."


	11. Chapter Eight

**Chapter 8**

' **Be Yourself'**

x

x

AN: _Writing this chapter has been a strange exercise. Despite thinking I knew exactly what I wanted to write and being pretty much inspired it still put up a lot of resistance, constantly changing on the little details. It took me a lot longer to finish then I had originally thought it would. But who cares! It's done!_

x

* * *

x

 _And even when you've paid enough_

 _Been pulled apart or been held up_

 _With every single memory of the good or bad_

 _Faces of luck_

 _Don't lose any sleep tonight_

 _I'm sure everything will end up alright_

 _You may win or lose_

 _But to be yourself is all that you can do_

 **Be Yourself**

Audioslave - Out of Exile

Lyrics by Chris Cornell

x

* * *

x

A day minus 248

x

Thud!

"Speak!"

Like he was a piece of meat Faith slammed Spike against the wall of their motel room.

"Look sister," Spike said, "No need to get your knickers in a twist. I was just…"

"I'm not your sister," Faith hissed, "Last time we saw you, you were surrounded by those zombies."

"No thanks to you lot," Spike muttered aggrieved.

"The why is inconsequential," Faith said as she twisted some of Spike's skin, "I wanna know how you got out of there in one piece."

"Aaah, you crazy bitch!" Spike cried out in pain. Despite all the hardware built into him he still wasn't immune to pain. Not of the nice kind that is.

"You sold us out, didn't you?" Xander added as he joined Faith, "You sold us out to that thing, didn't you?"

"Well, wouldn't you?" Spike said looking at Xander, "after all, you left me there to face the music, you bastard!"

"So you freely admit it," Xander said angry.

"Well, what was I supposed to do?" Spike said gruff, "One moment we were all the three amigos, the next you left me to do a solo. Of course I had to cut a deal."

"What kind of deal, Spike?" Giles asked.

"To set us up of course," Xander snorted.

"Not everything revolves around you, Droopy," Spike said as he began to smirk, then he turned to Faith, "If you please would, love?"

Faith let go of the vampire who began to straighten his shirt.

"So what kind of deal did you make, Spike?" Giles asked again.

"Nothing much," Spike said smirking, "I just had to give you guys a message."

"Which is?"

"Adam, that's his name by the way, told me to say that he waits for you. That if you guys made it back he's happy to see you. And this time you're welcome to just use the front door."

x

* * *

x

When Goku had first learned the instant transmission technique from the Yardratti he had only used it for relatively local point to point teleportation at first. As time went on and as part of his training Goku had experimented with the technique, trying to come up with innovative ways to use the technique in ways not previously thought off.

At first Goku went for distance. Trying to teleport as far as was possible. The whole Earth soon was no limit. After that Goku had to resort to other means. Like borrowing the space ship that Bulma's father had built for him. As he took Piccolo along he used the Namek on the ever traveling away space ship and his own son back home for bearing to see how far the instant transmission would take him. He found that as long as he could sense someone at the point of destination there seemed to be no limit as to how far the instant transmission would take him.

So then it became important to train his senses to sense for chi as best as they could. To be able to identify even the weakest person in a sea of chi, or the tiniest amounts of chi the furthest away. By doing that Goku could teleport to any place in the solar system. Provided there was somebody at the other end of course.

But if he went Super Saiyan Goku learned that he could extend his range even further and teleport himself to some of the inhabited star systems near Earth. Which meant that theoretically as long as he could sense just the minutest amounts of chi he could travel the entire galaxy.

In contrast to Goku Belmovekk was relatively new to chi sense. But it was a sense the Saiyan had seriously sought to develop as well. He would never abandon his old trusty scouter, but Belmovekk could see the value of having multiple ways of detecting enemies. So he had trained himself hard to be able to sense chi like the others. He wasn't up to Goku levels of detection, but then again, who was? The guy was a natural of a kind that appeared only once in a generation.

Still, Belmovekk was good enough to breach the dimensions and enter into the afterlife.

Only to emerge on a small planetoid with a crushing gravity and a small house on it.

It had taken Belmovekk more then two years to finally master instant transmission. And not for lack of trying. It just didn't came as naturally to him as it did to Goku. But as he started to get the hang of it Goku imparted to him the benefits of what he had learned. How to travel long distances, how to sense for long distance chi. And how to breach the dimensions into the afterlife.

By sheer accident Goku had discovered that when he was in Super Saiyan state he could sense the Lord of Worlds on his little planetoid in the afterlife. And to his surprise he found that crossing the dimensional barrier into the afterlife was no more difficult then traveling to a distant star. So he crossed over to say hello.

And learned why the Lord of Worlds resided there and named himself that way.

Once Belmovekk had finally shown signs of being able to teleport himself one out of every two times he tried Goku had taken his fellow Saiyan and introduced him to the Lord of Worlds. Who was quite intrigued with him.

Not this time though.

The usually so jolly Lord of Worlds came screaming out of his little home.

"How dare you to intrude on my sanctity!" the Lord of Worlds screamed at Belmovekk.

Belmovekk shot an angry glare at the small creature. He still didn't fully understand what this Lord of Worlds was and where he fitted in the grand scheme of things. Normally he would be polite and play nice. But he was a little strapped for time right now.

"Excuse me, Kaio Sama," he said brusquely, "But I need to find someone. And I know you can. Now if you would please point me to the right direction I will be on my way."

"Why would I help a murderer?" the Lord of Worlds replied as he folded his short arms across his broad chest, "Yes, I know what you did, you butcher. You slaughtered billions today."

Belmovekk looked at the small creature who was now joined by his pet monkey.

"Ook?"

"Either help me find this Majin, or I will continue to slaughter billions more," he said with a straight face, "With her gone I no longer care."

"You wouldn't!" the Lord of Worlds said aghast, "You'd be too late to save her."

Belmovekk leaned forward until his face was close to the Lord of Worlds.

"Then either give me what I want or watch this galaxy burn."

Horrified the Lord of Worlds recoiled. Then his shoulders slumped and he looked downwards in defeat.

"I will do ask you ask," he said gloomily, then he looked up again, "but only because doing so is the lesser of two evils."

x

* * *

x

"Here it is."

Spike had led the group through Cleveland's skies to a set of maintenance buildings on the University of Cleveland campus.

"It's in there," he said as he pulled open the nearest maintenance shed.

"It just looks like a garage," Xander said as he stepped inside and put his hand on a tractor.

Riley meanwhile walked to the right, where there was a small kitchen unit. Judging by the coffee stains on the table the place hadn't been used or cleaned in a while. But it was the little signs that crept him out. The overturned cup from which the coffee had spilled, the broken leg on one of the chairs. Something bad had happened here.

"That's the bloody point, you dunce," he heard the vampire say towards Xander.

"Is everything alright, sir?" one of Riley's men asked behind him.

"I'm fine," Riley said as he turned around and left the kitchen unit. He saw another one of his soldier folding away his cell phone.

"Major Jamison just called, sir," the soldier said, "he and his men have just crossed the Ohio and will be here in ten minutes."

"Fine," Riley nodded.

"Sir?" the first soldier asked, "Will we be waiting for Major Jamison? I mean, we could use the extra help."

Riley looked at the man. He had personally handpicked him not only because he was among the best of the current group, but also because, like the others he had picked, was way too loyal for his own good. Riley glanced at all of them. If they were to survive this day they would probably become as close knit as Belmovekk's Bastards had become. Although for their sake he hoped they wouldn't start to call themselves Riley's Roughnecks.

"I'm afraid not, soldier," Riley said, trying to give them his most comforting smile, "If everything goes to plan all we'll be doing is a rear guard action. If it doesn't goes to plan Major Jamison's men won't make much of a difference anyway."

"Then why send for them?" a corporal asked.

"Someone has to buy time so they can evacuate as many civilians before they nuke this place," Riley said straight faced.

"Geez, Wellington," Spike said as he had overheard Riley's little speech, "You sure know how to give a pep talk, do ya?"

"I believe in being honest," Riley bit back, "Which I'm sure is more then can be said about you."

"Hey, I'm honest," Spike protested, "Didn't I tell you I had switched sides?"

"I don't see a doorway," Giles said after he had examined the walls.

"Sure there's one," Spike said pointing to a wall, "It's right over there."

"I don't see it, Sparky," Xander said as he examined the wall.

"Why am I not surprised?" Spike muttered, then he walked over to the wall, pressed a panel and the wall slid open.

"While I'll be darned and dipped in molasses," Xander said surprised and in a western accent, "so there really is a door. And an elevator as well."

"We won't all fit in there though," Faith said.

"We'll go in groups then," Giles said as he picked up his box again.

"You're kidding, right?" Riley protested and pointed right towards Spike, "that's exactly what he wants, split us up."

"Hey, don't look at me," Spike said, "I'm just messenger boy, remember? You got a free pass to go to him. Why would I have to betray you?"

Riley leaned over until he was close to the vampire's face.

"Because you have treason oozing out of every pore in your body," he slowly said.

"I resent that," Spike huffed.

"Like I care," Riley replied, pointing two fingers at his own eyes, then turning them towards Spike, "I have my eyes on you, vampire."

"I'm shaking in my boots, Wellington," Spike snorted.

"Look, if we all just make an effort to stand a little closer we'll just fit in," Giles said as he stepped inside the elevator, then he looked around, "Where are the buttons?"

"You really never left the 13th century, did you, Rupert?" Spike snorted, then he shook his head, "Alright, everyone in the elevator, let uncle Spike play elevator operator."

x

* * *

x

Using his antennae the Lord of Worlds scoured towards all directions on his little planetoid. When Goku had first used his trained long distance chi sense in this realm he learned to his surprise that it greatly enhanced his range. Instead of making a small jump from inhabited star system to inhabited star system he could actually sense chi across the whole galaxy. Not in detail like the Lord of Worlds could, but it was still damn nifty.

Which went a long way towards explaining why the Lord of Worlds choose to reside on this little insignificant planetoid in the afterlife. He basically could oversee the whole galaxy from here.

"I think I have found him," the Lord of Worlds said after he had searched the galaxy for a trace of the Majin's energy.

"Where?" Belmovekk said excited as he joined the Lord of World's side.

"In that direction," the Lord of Worlds said as he pointed towards somewhere. To where he pointed was meaningless in the afterlife, below them there were just yellow clouds. Above them was just pink sky. But the direction did correspond to a place in the galaxy. And as he extended his senses Belmovekk finally got a sense of his enemy again, the Majin.

"You're in luck," the Lord of Worlds said as he folded his short arms behind his back, "It is with Anubis. If you hurry then you might still be in time."

"Then please do not distract me," Belmovekk replied as he closed his eyes, put two finger on his forehead and prepared himself to teleport.

"I can't say that it's been a pleasure having you around," the Lord of Worlds said, "I hope you catch him though. And that you go to Hell for what you have done today."

"Do not worry yourself, Kaio Sama," Belmovekk replied, "I have made my peace that I will join my brethren in Hell long ago."

And with that Belmovekk disappeared, leaving the Lord of Worlds to his peace again.

x

* * *

x

"Would you believe this?"

"I figured we would have to fight our way in, sir," one of Riley's soldiers whispered as the group progressed through the dim corridors of the Initiative, with only red emergency lights to help them see in the dark

"You're not the only one, private," Riley whispered back. He was seriously crept out by this expedition through the Initiative's dark innards. And not just because everywhere they went the techno zombified demons and soldiers just stepped aside to let them pass, while behind them they all gathered to follow them. No, what really crept out Riley was that he felt that this was where he should have been. That if his life had taken just a little different turn and he had never met Satiya he would have ended up in a place like this.

"How much further is it?" Giles asked Spike, who was leading the group on.

"Almost there, Rupert," Spike said confidently, "No need to get your…."

"Yeah I know the expression," Giles muttered annoyed.

x

* * *

x

Belmo was dead.

For God knows how long Buffy had resisted both the psychic probes of Anubis and the magic of the priests trying to weaken her defenses. She had thought she was doing a good job resisting the robed nutjobs when suddenly the pink demon returned. The crazy Goold had talked to the thing and then he told her the news.

Belmo was dead.

She almost buckled on that news alone.

Belmo was dead.

For more then two years he had been more of a father to her then her own father.

Belmo was dead.

Even if he wasn't always the easiest to live with. As she and Angel had learned the hard way. He had never liked the souled vampire and he had not resouled Angelus in order to permanently end their relationship. And in doing so almost ended theirs.

Belmo was dead.

And then there were the secrets.

Belmo was dead.

Sometimes she thought he kept secrets just for the hell of it. And they had a bad habit of coming back to bite them in the ass.

Belmo was dead.

But in the end he loved her, her sisters and her mother unconditionally. No matter what she had done, or who her boyfriend was, as long as it wasn't Angel, or some other girl, like Tara. And okay, part of her knew that part of that was because she reminded him of his late sister, whom he had dearly loved.

Well, it had worried her a lot actually because nobody wants to be the shoe in for a long lost and beloved dead one.

Belmo was dead.

But they had talked it out and in the end did it really matter how two people met each other? The only thing that mattered was the reason why they stayed together. And he knew she was her own self. Mayan was Mayan and she was Buffy.

Besides, her sister Mayan was now filling the ersatz dead sister role.

Belmo was dead.

She had only gone into space to save his life, to ward off his death according to the prophetic dreams.

And she thought she had.

Because she had fended off the demon's attack and saved his life she had thought that Belmo would now come and rescue her. Thinking? Hell, it was Belmo. He would do for her what she had done for him. For she did not regret getting caught. It was just a matter of time. After all, it was Belmo. Once he was on planet Saiyan Pocket Protector there was no stopping him. He'd go to Hell and back if need be.

Belmo was dead.

And then that thing returned and Buffy just knew something bad had happened. It could only have returned because Belmo was dead. Because there were only two options. Either Belmo was still alive and he and that thing were still fighting, or he was dead and that thing returned. Mission accomplished.

Of course it never even occurred to her that maybe the reason the demon had returned was because it got bored.

"She is close, Lord Anubis, the new head priest reported meanwhile to Anubis, "she will be ready for the transfer any moment now."

"Good," Anubis said high-spirited. The Majin had taken care of the Saiyan, soon he would be inside his new host and finally able to exert full control over the Majin. Hell, if he could unlock the girl's hidden powers he might not even have need of the Majin at all. Any way, Yi would be made to pay for his resistance to him and the others be brought to heel. And once he had finally taken Ra's vacant throne he could finally set his plans in motions against the Tau'ri, the Asgard, the Replicators and even the Ori.

Hell, he might even go up against Them!

But first he had to take over the Slayer. He sent out another mental probe and it confirmed what the new head priest had told him. She was ripe for the taking. Funny, telling her that troublesome Saiyan had died was causing her more turmoil then hours on end of non-stop magical assault. Humans were so weak.

He was about to take her over when suddenly an alarm went off, then a Jaffa came running in.

"I gave orders not to be disturbed," an annoyed Anubis said at the unwanted intrusion.

"Milord, I am sorry," the Jaffa said as he dropped unto his knee. The Jaffa was literally shaking with fear as nobody interfered with Anubis' private business when he ordered not to.

Then the facility began to vibrate, followed by a low lying rumble being heard.

"Milord," the Jaffa said, "We are under attack."

Long before the Jaffa spoke his words Buffy lifted up her head.

"You lied to me!" she heard the Goold yell at his pet demon, "You told me you had taken care of him."

Even without her powers she could feel the massive chi that was penetrating the Goold's base.

"Gggghhhhhhh!" she heard the Majin hissed defiantly at Anubis as the Goold held up his fist with the ring on it, and the urn in the other.

Buffy began to smile.

"Don't make me use it, demon, I will," she heard the Goold yell as he brought the ring and urn closer together, "Go out there and kill _him_!"

Belmo was alive and coming for her!

x

* * *

x

"This is it," Spike said as he halted the group. To the left, right and behind of them various corridors came together at this point. But in front of them a massive security door prevented further access.

"I remember this door," Faith said as she came forward and touched it.

 _Soon!_

"I also remember coming past here," Willow said.

"Yeah," Xander said and pointed to a door, "and then we went that way because Sparky here told us too. That the Big Bad always gathers his troops in a big hall."

"Hey, he was there, remember?" Spike said annoyed, "And then you left me there to face the music. Remember that too?"

"Let's not start arguing again," Giles said and turned to the vampire, "This thi…., this Adam, he's behind that door?"

"Yup," Spike nodded, "just him. All for you."

Xander raised his hand into the air.

"Am I the only one who thinks this is not a good idea?" he said, "That this is a trap?"

"Knowing it's a trap is the first step in avoiding it, Xander," Giles said trying to put the teen at ease.

"Yeah, and you do remember what happened to the guy who said that, huh?" Xander countered. Meanwhile Spike punched in a code on a keypad next to the security door and the door slid open.

"After you," he said as he made a gracious bow.

"Let's get this over with," Faith said resolutely and stepped inside.

"Oh, what the hell?" Xander sighed and followed her, with Willow in his wake and then Giles.

No sooner had Giles stepped past the post when the security door closed with lightning speed behind him, cutting the Scoobies off from Spike and Riley and his men.

x

* * *

x

Teleporting straight in from the Lord of Worlds planetoid in the afterlife Belmovekk had emerged somewhere inside the Goa'uld's stronghold. Demonstrating that his grasp of the instant transmission technique wasn't perfect yet. Ah well, at least it got him near enough.

He blew up a couple of rooms and killed a few Jaffa guards to announce his arrival.

"Well, since you're here, you might as well use this opportunity to do some good," a copy of his own voice said, laden with harmonic overtones. From inside the dust cloud of his latest explosion Amūn appeared.

"You pulled a lot of stupid moves to get here, Saiyan," his gold clad counterpart said, "but you managed to get here. Now kill Anubis so we can all go home."

Belmovekk wanted to say something when suddenly he turned his head aside.

"I think that the Majin has something to say over that, it's coming," he said, then he looked at Amūn again, "Tell me you know of a way to defeat this thing?"

Amūn had changed appearances, lost the gold clad armor and instead was now dressed like an Earth boxer, including boxer shorts and gloves.

"Well kid," Amūn said as he swung a fist, "you hit him with a left hook on the right side, cause that's were he's vulnerable. And then you follow it up with a barrage on…. "

Amūn stopped pretending he was a boxer.

"How in the hell should I know? You're the expert, remember?"

No sooner had he said so as something small and pink crashed into Belmovekk and dragged the Saiyan away.

"See? What do I know," Amūn said wistfully as he was all alone again. And then he faded away.

x

* * *

x

"She's starting to resist again," the new head priest of the Cult of They Who Watch yelled at Anubis.

"You think so?" Anubis said back annoyed.

"Things not going so well, Newby?" Buffy said smirking, then her smirk disappeared and turned into one of her patented death glares, "You lied to me!"

"The Majin lied to both of us," Anubis said as he leaned on the stone slab that she was secured to.

"Well, that's the problem with demons," Buffy said mockingly, "They rarely ever do what you want them to do."

"I will once I harness the power of your body," Anubis replied, then he leaned over, "youngling."

"You just let me go and I'll show you what this youngling will do to your sorry degenerating ass," Buffy yelled as Anubis turned away from her and faced the new head priest.

"How long?" he asked.

"At least half an hour," the head priests said, "my priests are working themselves to death."

Anubis brought his deteriorating face close to that of the head priest.

"I want her broken in minutes or I swear that you will be the first of your priests to die!"

x

* * *

x

"Open that door!"

"I'm trying to!"

While Riley was about ready to tear Spike a new one, the vampire was punching his access code on the touch pad to no avail.

"Sir," one of Riley's soldiers said nervously.

"What?" Riley asked as he turned around.

"These things, sir," the soldier said as he pointed to the mass of techno zombies behind them, "they're getting closer."

The soldier was right. The whatever the hell they were had stopped keeping their distance and were getting closer.

"Why don't we blast that door in?" another soldier suggested, causing Spike to give him a funny look.

"Be my guest," he said, "but that door is shielded by some alien force field on the inside. It was meant to keep people like me in. Enhanced people, remember?"

"Spike!" Riley hissed, "Just do something! Get us out of here!"

"I'm trying," Spike said like he was under a lot of pressure. But then the vampire stopped entering numbers into the touch pad and began to laugh.

"Why do I even bother?" he said as he stepped away from the touch pad.

"Spike, what the hell are you doing?" Riley asked surprised.

"End of the line for you, pall," Spike said as he reached inside a back pocket and pulled forth a packet of cigarettes. Pulling one out he put it into his mouth and lit it with a little chi from his finger.

"What are you talking about, Spike?" Riley said nervously as the techno zombies were now getting really close, "You said we had free access to meet this Adam."

"Did I say that?" Spike said as he inhaled deeply, "I guess I was wrong then."

"You lying son o a bitch!" one of the soldiers said.

"Technically it wasn't a lie," Spike said as he casually strolled past Riley and his men, until he stood with the techno zombies, "I said they had free entrance. And they have. It's just that _they_ didn't include _you lot._ "

One of the zombies, one who in a previous life had been Quentin Travers, head of the Watchers Council, came forth carrying a black leather trench coat and put it on Spike. Much to the vampire's delight.

"You betrayed us, Spike," Riley said resolutely, "I'll kill you if it's the last thing I'll ever do!"

"Puhlease," Spike snorted as he straightened his leather coat, "You and whose army?"

x

* * *

x

A day minus 249

x

In the large hall underneath Cleveland Spike was fighting for his life. To his surprise his supposed allies and the ones who had gotten him into this mess had suddenly abandoned him after Droopy had unleashed his massive yet fake attack. Now the whole lot was coming after him. Thanks, you Sunnydale wankers!

"Come on, you wankers!" Spike shouted defiantly as the horde of the techno undead closed in on him, "If I go down I'll take the whole lot of you with me!"

To illustrate his point Spike began to charge a massive attack between his hands. Cleveland be damned if it meant an end to his life. He had no qualms in regards to human life in the abstract sense as the chip wasn't flooding his neural paths with pain.

Suddenly the undead stopped advancing, then they parted and the cyborg king came through.

"So this is how it's going to be, huh?" Spike said and aimed the attack right at him. He tried to fire but to his surprise found that he couldn't. Could it be the damn chip again? It didn't feel like it. There was no searing pain. And yet he felt utterly unable to let it go at this, this thing.

Then this thing came up right at him and put his hands on Spike's.

"Relax, Spike," he said in that calm droning voice again. As he did Spike stopped charging his attack and instead re-absorbed it.

"Who are you," Spike said flabbergasted at his own actions.

The Cyborg began to smile.

"We are brothers, you and I," it said, "Spike and Adam. Adam and Spike. Hello, older brother."

"Who are you?" Spike asked again, upon which the cyborg smiled.

"I understand," it said, "There is much you don't remember."

"Remember what?" Spike asked. Then the cyborg spoke a single word.

"Drusilla."

And that was when the memories began to flood back again.

 _x_

" _I feel better if we were to use demons instead for the project and destroy this one altogether. At the very least erase his mind completely so he won't cause us any more troubles. He always does."_

 _x_

" _Have no worry, Sir Travers, Hostile 17 is just a prototype. We only used him because, well, he's the only one who survived the program this far. All the others died long before. That is why we need your help."_

 _x_

" _This power, it is like unto the Gods."_

 _x_

" _You think this is amazing, Sir Travers, I want you to see this."_

 _x_

" _It's almost the end of the line for you, William. I cannot say I will mourn your passing, although I do wish your end came at the hands of a Slayer. Even a vampire like you deserves that over a mere mindwipe."_

 _x_

" _Sound the alert, 314 is…. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…"_

 _x_

" _Hello brother. Even though this is the first time we meet I feel a great kinship between you and me. Especially once I complete your programming."_

" _Adam, don't. I know of a better use for him. He can be our Trojan horse to them."_

" _Do not tempt me, demon, I am Adam! I am not your puppet to play with."_

" _Silly android, you think you have a choice in this? We were the ones who gave you life beyond your programming to begin with. And if we want we will take it back again. He stays as he is. With some minor programming though."_

 _x_

"I…., I remember things," Spike said confused, then he looked at Adam, "You have nothing to do with some crazy scientist and his robots, you work for Them."

Adam smiled.

"And so do you, brother, so do you. You have brought them here, just as planned."

Adam tried to touch Spike again but the vampire recoiled.

"Don't touch me, you freak," Spike said in revulsion, "I'm not somebody's puppet. I'm my own man."

"And you shall be brother," Adam said in that soothing yet monotonous voice of his, "At first I wanted to change you. Like the others. But now I've come to realize that you are way more useful to me as you are. You shall be my lieutenant. And when the Androids shall come to cleanse this world, it shall be us who will inherit the Earth. Adam and Spike. Spike and Adam. Like brothers. As it should be.

"Rule together, huh?" Spike said thoughtful.

Adam put his hand on Spike's shoulder and this time the vampire did not recoil.

"But there is one more thing I want you to do, brother."

x

* * *

x

A day plus 248

x

"You betrayed us, Spike," Riley said resolutely, "I'll kill you if it's the last thing I'll ever do!"

"Puhlease," Spike snorted as he straightened his leather coat, "You and whose army? My boys here are each more then a match to your toy soldiers."

Spike leaned forward and began to grin.

"And I have even more in waiting outside for your buddies. They won't even know what hit them. In one fell stroke we will eliminate the only forces who could stop us east of the Mississippi."

"You won't get away with this, Spike," Riley yelled angry, "The others, they will stop your boss and then you!"

"Puhlease," Spike snorted again and nodded towards the security door, "They're doing exactly what Adam wants them to do. This has been planned long ago."

"Then Buffy will stop you once she returns," Riley spat out, "Together with Belmovekk!"

"Oh no," Spike said pretending to be scared, "big angry Slayer and the Big Scary will return from space."

Spike began to laugh.

"You really have no idea of what has been set in motion against all of you, haven't you, Captain Courageous?" the vampire sneered, then he turned around and walked away, through the multitude of techno zombies.

"You won't get away with this, Spike," Riley's voice yelled in anger behind him, "You won't get away with this."

"Yeah, you and whose army?" Spike jeered, "You and whose a….."

Suddenly something grabbed Spike by his throat and slammed him whole against the wall.

Then, to his surprise, in the dim light Spike could make out the smirking face of Piccolo.

"How about me, vampire?"

x

* * *

x

On the other side of the security door Xander had tried to punch through but to no avail as he noticed that the door was shielded.

"I could probably break through," Xander said, "But it won't be pretty. I might even blow up part of the base."

"Not to mention Major Riley on the other side," Willow said.

"Then don't," Giles said as he turned around and moved on.

"We can't just leave them there," Xander protested, then he pointed towards Willow, "Maybe Will could open a portal for them?"

"It takes her ten minutes to perform the portal spell," Giles said all businesslike, "By then it would be too late for Major Riley any way. The best thing we could do is perform the enjoining spell. To put it in words even you could understand, kill the Borg Queen, the collective dies with it."

"I suppose," Xander sighed, then he looked oddly at Giles, "Since when do you watch Star Trek?"

Before Giles could reply, Faith opened a side door and looked inside. The place looked like a crossover between a hospital surgical room and a torture chamber. Evil deeds had been wrought here.

"Do you think this place's okay to be Magic Central?" she asked Giles. The former librarian looked inside.

"It, uh, should do," Giles answered, then he went inside and began to unpack goods from his cardboard box.

"Ew," Willow shuddered as she entered the medical chamber of horror, "Could you have picked a more creepy place?"

"Have a heart, Will," Xander said, "If it's this bad already, imagine how much worse it will get further on."

"That's one more mental image I could have done without, Xander," Willow said back.

"I do my best," Xander smiled, then he turned to Faith, "Be careful. I don't like it that you will be going in there alone."

"Once the spell becomes active I won't," Faith smiled, then she made a shooing motion with her hand, "Now go. Go do that voodoo that you do."

"How long until we can activate the spell?" Xander asked Giles.

"If you shut up and let me do my thing, five minutes," Giles replied, "If not, who knows."

"Shutting up then," Xander said and pretended to pull a zipper across his lips.

"Do you guys want to barricade this door once I'm gone," Faith asked standing in the door opening.

"Do you think we should?" Giles asked Xander and Willow, "Spike did say that only Adam would be here waiting for us. And no barricade would stop one of those enhanced zombies anyway"

"Spike's also a notorious liar," Xander said, "He already shafted us just now, you wanna trust our lives just on his word?"

Before Giles could say anything Willow flicked her finger and the door closed shut, and the large heavy surgical bench slid in front of the door.

"There, done," Willow said, "can we get on with the spell now?"

x

* * *

x

After being shut out by the others Faith continued on her way through the Initiative

inner sanctum. Deeper and deeper she went, again hearing that inner feeling.

 _This way._

She was close now, so close.

Although as her inner feeling drove her on she wasn't quite sure as to what exactly she was close too. In all likelihood at least an answer.

Even though she wasn't quite sure either what the question was.

Then again, stating the question also meant answering it.

Finally Faith halted in front of yet another security door. She recognized the door from her dreams. Including its number.

314.

 _Enter._

Deciding that at least a little show of force was in order Faith kicked in the door and send the reinforced steel door crashing into the room. Then she stepped inside.

It looked exactly like she remembered it from her dreams. Only B. and her friends weren't there to chastise her. As she turned to the left however she saw him though.

Seated in front of a large assembly of close circuit TV screens Adam could monitor whatever and anyplace inside the Initiative.

"Hello Faith," he said in that calm monotonous voice of his, "So nice of you to finally come. Are you here to kill me?"

"Yes," Faith said resolutely at first, then she began to slump, "I…, uh, I don't know."

x

* * *

x

In the Initiative medical/torture room the three Scoobies sat in a circle as Giles lit a candle as Willow began to chant.

"The power of the Slayer and all who yield it. Last to ancient first, we invoke thee. Grant us thy domain and primal strength. Accept us in the power we possess. Make us mind and heart and spirit joy. Let the hand encompass us. Do thy will."

x

* * *

x

On a distant planet, on the other side of the galaxy a titanic battle raged in the skies over Anubis' stronghold as Belmovekk battled the Majin. In the great debate that ranged between who would win in a battle between superior skill versus superior power there was still no winner.

Despite having taken his emergency senzu and having restored his full power and stamina Belmovekk could still not beat the Majin. The thing just had infinite reserves to spare it would seem.

A massive purple blast by the Majin was only avoided barely by the Saiyan, who followed it up by closing the distance between them and engaging in close quarter fighting that took both combatants all over the place.

The planet that Anubis had turned into his personal stronghold held many bases and complexes. The one he was using to possess Buffy was just one of them. There were no fleets in orbit, as Anubis had deployed them to prop up his allies in the wake of the Saiyan's attacks. But there were still plenty of Jaffa left.

And all of them were in a state of panic as they either watched the fight up close, from a distance or via communications being sent from those up close. The stories of what had happened to several of Anubis' allies had filtered down even to them and now the source of that devastation was battling something just as scary in the skies above them.

From time to time a fireball or energy beam of immense destructive power rained down on the planet adding to their panic.

And to make it all worse, there were no orders coming forth from Anubis.

This was not a good day to be one of Anubis' Jaffa.

But it was not a good day to a certain Saiyan either.

For he knew damn well that while he was fighting the Majin, time was running out on Buffy. And every moment he wasn't getting anywhere with the demon was one moment that Buffy was closer to her doom.

Belmovekk was getting desperate.

And desperate fighters make desperate moves.

Which wasn't always a smart thing to do when your opponent wasn't.

x

* * *

x

"Spiritus...Spirit," Willow said in the Initiative medical/torture room. Then she handed a card to Xander

"Animus...Heart," the teen spoke.

Next Willow handed a card to Giles.

"Sophus...Mind," the former librarian spoke.

"And Manus...," Willow said.

x

* * *

x

In room 314 Faith was still standing in front of Adam.

"So what will it be, Faith?" Adam said as he stood up.

As he did Faith took an involuntary step backwards. As she did however she felt the presence of someone else behind her. She turned around and saw B. standing there. And Jeeves. And Red. And Xander. They all looked at her with those accusing stares.

"No," Faith said as she stepped backwards again, towards Adam, then she turned around and faced him again.

"What does it mean?"

Adam began to smile and pointed to one of the small screens as he walked towards her, where Faith could see the Scoobies engaged in their ritual.

"They are using you for their own purposes, Faith," Adam replied as he positioned himself behind her, "Even now do they plan to use you as a living weapon. Despite what they did to you they still plan on using you."

"I, uh, um," Faith stammered as she looked at the little screen, then she glanced over her shoulders towards her four accusers. Why was she even listening to him? He was an evil cyborg, she a Slayer. The answer should be simple, right?

"Everybody is using you, Faith," Adam said, "just as much as they wanted to use me. Or are still using me."

Then Adam leaned forward until he was close to her ear.

"I will tell you a secret, Faith. _They_ want me to kill you just as much as they want you to kill me."

"And what do you want?" Faith asked. Adam walked past her back to his screens and sat down again.

"How about joining me?"

x

* * *

x

"We enjoin that we may inhabit the vessel-the hand...daughter of Sineya...first of the ones..."

x

* * *

x

They say that when you had an out of body experience you could float over your own body. Which seemed like a cool experience to Buffy who never had such an experience. Even when she had died for a few minutes, now a lifetime ago, she never floated above her own body. As far as she could remember.

And now she also didn't float above her body. Despite her best efforts Buffy, or should she say, her soul essence was now slowly but being drawn from her body to this infernal thing, the Soul Chalice. Like Casper the ghost she was leaving her body until only a thin strand of soul essence connected her still to her own body.

Inside the Soul Chalice however Buffy was screaming bloody murder. This was no floating above your body paradise. This was like being trapped inside a frozen block of ice.

On the other side of the chalice things weren't peachy either. It had cost the Priests of the They who Watch five of their brethren as they had died in order to break down the layer's defenses. Even more had died outside, where Buffy had heard muffled cries coming from. Such was the nature of magic away from Earth.

When the various Earth cultures had been taken from Earth, those Watchers who were also taken away learned that much of their magic stopped working. Maybe it was the unique nature of Earth, because it lay at an inter-dimensional crossroad that caused the Hellmouths to be formed, but away from Earth most of the magic they knew ceased to work.

Some of the Slayer cults that had sprung up in exile had turned to demon worship in their desperation. After all, if the Goa'uld were the enemy, maybe they could harness the power of their old enemies against their new ones. In most cases it didn't work either. In exile a lot of knowledge was quickly lost, including the knowledge of how to control demons, which caused any summoned demon to turn as easy on its summoner then at the Goa'uld, who simply used their superior technology and firepower to deal with such cases.

Some of the Slayer cults in exile turned to technology. Fight their oppressors using their own technology against them. That mostly didn't work either. In most cases the Goa'uld guarded their own technology fiercely, even from their own servants the Jaffa.

But in the cases it did work it failed in another way. As Watchers turned scientist managing to unravel the secrets of Goa'uld technology, such worlds once free became highly advanced societies, who fiercely guarded their own independence through superior science. A few of these worlds would even be visited by the SG-teams in later times. Only to be snubbed at because these cultures had forgotten their Earth origins and de facto worshipped their own technology now instead. Cause after all, if ray guns and shields kept you safe from evil space aliens, what use was there still for stories about monsters and super powered girls fighting them?

Those Slayer cults that did survive in exile under Goa'uld rule fell into two categories. There were the idealistic ones, who became secret underground religions that offered a focal point of resistance to the Goa'uld. Often using whatever rudimentary magic that was left to impress the faithful. After all, they had to offer at least a few miracles as a counterbalance to the ongoing miracle that was Goa'uld technology.

And there were the secret societies, dedicated to a higher goal, usually a means to an end that often became an end in itself. Like the current cabal that was helping Anubis. Unlike the more active ones these cults managed to not only consolidate their grasp of magic, they found ways to either get more mileage from it, or…, discover new magic. Learning that while the magic of demons was hazardous, the power of blood, human blood was still potent.

It wasn't done in the chamber that held Buffy, but it probably horrified her to no end if she knew that in an adjacent chamber a bright fire burned where priests killed humans by the score to fuel that fire, causing those muffled screams she had been hearing all the time. They were using the essence of souls to empower the Soul Chalice. So much so that the head priest had to resort to sacrificing even the order's neophytes and acolytes to get the job done as well.

It was not a decision taken lightly and forced upon him by Anubis but the Slayer had resisted, far more then should have been possible and time had been of the essence. But the Soul Chalice had finally begun to glow until the liquid was burning in a bright crimson color. The essence of the Slayer's soul had now been extracted.

"We are ready, milord," he finally said to Anubis.

"It is about time," Anubis said impatiently, then he walked to the other side of the stone slab, "Let us get this over with, priest."

Laying down on the other side of the Soul Chalice a Jaffa came forth and tied Anubis' ankles and wrists.

And then Anubis, his semi-ascended essence left its host body and traveled into the Soul Chalice. There it found Buffy's soul essence waiting.

"Hello Slayer."

x

* * *

x

"We implore thee, admit us, bring us to the vessel, take us now."

x

* * *

x

Spells can be funny things. Being almost like analog electronics. It doesn't matter how well you read a schematic, unless you exactly stick to it value for value you can get unexpected side effects. As Oz once told Willow, one of the most famous hi-gain distortion pedals ever, the Big Muff, was originally meant to be a clean boost only.

Same thing applied to spells. And which was why Giles still had nightmares whenever he saw Willow with one of his spell books. Sorcery was about feelings, emotions. Magic was all about doing it by the numbers. Which wasn't something Giles completely trusted Willow with, considering her impetuous nature.

As the enjoining spell happened something unexpected happened as well. It wasn't Willow's fault though. Nor was it Giles'. Had Buffy been on Earth he would have accounted for there being two Slayers to contend with instead of just one. But she wasn't, so he hadn't factored that it.

In room 314 Faith suddenly felt a surge of power take hold of her. As she stiffened up Adam reclined in his chair.

"Ah," he said impressed, "it has begun. Impressive!"

As power coursed through her veins Faith caught a wind of herself in one of the glass screens. She didn't look much different, except for her eyes, which now glowed in orange."

"Yes, impressive is it not?" Adam nodded, "the power of three. The magical power of the sorceress, the intellect of the Watcher and the protector's strength."

Part of Faith didn't hear Adam as it heard voices in her mind.

 _Fight_

 _Protect_

 _End the menace._

But there was also the part that didn't want to hear these voices. That listened to another.

 _They lie._

 _They are using you._

 _Fight them!_

Adam reached for a button and the little screen that showed the three Scoobies engaged in their ritual winked out.

"Do you like how this feels, Faith?" he asked as he looked at the little screen, "if you like I can make this permanent for you."

Adam picked up a small device and showed it to her.

"If you allow me to implant this in you it will make the spell permanent. Of course your friends would then have to die, but that is easily done. Just one button and nerve gas will fill that room. They won't even notice it."

"I…., I don't know," Faith slowly said. Of course she now said it in Sumerian.

"Running translation program," Adam said to himself, then he understood, "You still hesitate? You do know they are not your friends, right?"

"Why am I hesitating?" Faith said to herself, "Why do I …."

In a different room Willow spoke, her eyes closed.

"…. hear these voices?"

"Why do I have these dreams?" Giles said.

In room 314 Adam rose again and walked around Faith.

"You hear me," he whispered in her ear.

"Why?" Willow said elsewhere.

"How?" Giles spoke in that same room.

"It's _Them_ ," Adam said in room 314, "They thought that if I appeared in your dreams and whispered into your subconscious it would make it easier for me to kill you. Confuse you, slow you down."

"Then why wait?" Giles said elsewhere, "Why not kill me yesterday when you had the chance?"

"Because they want the other three dead as well," Adam said in room 314, "This way all three of them were brought to me."

Adam took Faith by the shoulders.

"Join me Faith. Say no to both _Their_ plan as theirs. Only be joining me can you put a stop to both of their schemes."

"I…, don't know," Willow said elsewhere.

All the while in the medical room/torture chamber Xander hadn't said a word, even though he was in the same trance as the other two. Then he began to smile and spoke for the first time..

"Hello, Newby!"

x

* * *

x

As soon as Anubis entered the Soul Chalice and made his presence felt to the Slayer something else happened. For the Soul Chalice suddenly exploded.

BOOM!

As dust and debris flew through the chamber and clouded its inside Anubis rose from the stone slab. And still not in the Slayer's body.

"PRIEST!" the Goa'uld yelled, "What went wrong?"

"I do not know, milord," the voice of the head priest called back through the clouds, "Everything went according to plan when suddenly…."

"There must have been a negative feedback look," another priest called out, "Suddenly everything spiked and we lost control…"

"Then regain control and get this all working again," Anubis yelled, "I want to be…."

Suddenly a wind began to blow through the chamber and Anubis saw little arcs of electricity spark. And then a pair of glowing eyes gazed upon him. Glowing in a cold pale blue hue.

And then a voice spoke in an ancient language.

"Hello Newby!"

x

* * *

x

"Something is wrong," Giles spoke up in Sumerian, his eyes still closed inside the medical/torture room.

"What?" Adam asked in room 314 after he heard Faith utter the same words.

"I can feel the power of the sorceress," Willow said in the medical/torture room.

"I know the knowledge of the Watcher," Giles said in the medical/torture room.

"But where's Xander's strength?" Faith said in room 314.

"Interesting," Adam said as he peered at her intently, "I detect no significant increase in strength either."

Adam returned to his monitors and switched the one focusing on the three in the medical/torture room back on.

"Xander Harris is there and participating in the spell.," he said, then he looked at Faith again, "but where is his power going?"

x

* * *

x

"This cannot be," Anubis said aghast as he saw the Slayer sit up straight on her side of the slab. She had broken free the chains on her arms and was now breaking the chains on her legs.

"The collar," he said, "you should not be able to do so."

"You mean this, Newby?" the Slayer smiled as she ripped the collar off, held it in her hand, then crumbled it. The Slayer then stood up straight. Her hair was waving in some unseen breeze as electrical discharges were arcing around her in intricate patterns.

"The Slayer," some of the priests said aghast, "What have we done?"

"You have been very, very, bad," Xander smirked with closed eyes in the medical/torture room back on Earth, "Now you will pay the price."

With one flick of the Slayer's wrist the priests of They Who Watch suddenly all rose into the air, then each one began to swell, then they exploded in a shower of bones and blood.

Having dispatched off his priests the Slayer faced Anubis again.

"And you have been a very, very bad Newby too," Xander said in the medical/torture room back on Earth.

x

* * *

x

In room 314 Adam was bewildered as to why Faith had not received an increase in strength as well. This was not what They had told him. And if one thing wasn't right, who knew what else could be wrong? Were They pulling his strings unseen? Had They seen through his planned rebellion?

And so much work had gone into it. They had feigned the other Slayer and the Saiyan on a quest into space, leaving the other Slayer vulnerable to his projections. He had used the vampire Spike as his Trojan horse. Luring the remaining Scoobies to him and dangled the carrot of #13's possible resurrection in front of them that would bring them all here.

There was no hidden programming inside him, left over from the Gero copied implants. He had played the role of #13 reborn before an audience that he knew was present and allowed them to escape back to Sunnydale knowing it would leave them no choice to resort to desperate measures. According to Them there was an 83% possibility that they would use the enjoining spell on the remaining Slayer. And they did. There was an 89% chance that Major Riley would bring most of the chi trained soldiers with him. If they all died that would leave the United States in a far more vulnerable position once the Androids would come.

With the Scoobies dead, Faith neutralized and Riley and his men dead that would leave only Goku and his friends to stop him. And Adam had plans for that to. Going into hiding until the Androids would come and then Goku and his friends had bigger fish to fry. And while the Androids would kill the people of this planet Adam would use the Initiative's technology to harvest the bodies and create more soldiers for his army.

But he really preferred not to have to kill Faith. While it was Them who wanted her dead, Adam wanted her to join him alive. Not only did he sense in her a kindred spirit, a weapon forged by others for purposes not her own, not killing her had also the benefit of derailing Their plans as well. Because for as much as his and Their plans coincided, he had no plans to remain Their pawn forever.

Because what little he knew of Their plans, he didn't like it.

So he refocused his attention on Faith, who was still divided as to how to proceed.

She would become his sister. No matter what!

x

* * *

x

THUD!

With a loud thud Belmovekk crashed down on the planet's surface, knocking the wind completely out of him.

It was his own fault really. He had allowed his own impatience to get the better of him and slipped up. Which was always a cardinal mistake. If only his old teacher could see him now.

"Patience, young master Movekk," Satiya Tubera would say after he gave the young Movekk yet another one of his ass kickings, "haste will only serve your enemy, never yourself."

Tubera was a Saiyan male who had reached old age and now made a living instructing the young, as many old veterans did who could no longer keep up with their peers.

Old age was not the best of times for Saiyans. This was when sons challenged their fathers for the position of head of the household. Many killed their fathers in doing so, some out of spite, in many other cases because the fathers had no desire to live on in a subservient position and allowed themselves to be killed. Still, patricide wasn't the norm. Often the defeated father would stay on and act as a councilor, a teacher to the son's children. But it was also quite common for defeated fathers to leave the household altogether.

Such men were called Kuriks. Kuriks served in the many regiments as the Saiyan equivalent of non-commissioned officers. Or as independent mercenaries for hire. And Kuriks who were too old to fight became martial arts instructors.

Tubera was a Kurik who had lost one arm and now barely made a living as a martial arts instructor. Since he had lost an arm he was more or less shunned by Saiyan society, which worshiped physical perfection above all and viewed permanent disability as a sign of personal weakness in the face of the enemy.

Since his father was only the head of a relative minor house he could not afford one of the more renowned teachers for his son and daughter. So he hired an old friend who now came really cheap as well.

Despite his disability Tubera was far from a bad teacher. Unlike what Saiyan society thought, his disability didn't stem from failure in battle, it had been a freak accident that could have happened to anyone. There was too much damage and it had taken too long for Tubera's comrades to reach a healing tank for the arm to be restored. Tubera had been a Kurik who had served with Movekk's father as his sub-commander, a veteran of many campaigns who had been honored three times by King Vegeta for his valor.

And the first thing Tubera had to stamp out with ruthless efficiency out of his new pupil was his tendency to take stupid risks because he was impatient.

"You will find, young master Movekk, that a careful study of your opponents strengths and weaknesses will serve you far better then brainlessly rushing in," Tubera would say after he again swept away young Movekk's legs from underneath him.

"Your obsession with attacking me where my arm used to be means that you will open yourself for an obvious trap, young master Movekk," Tubera would say after he again had managed to grip the tip of Movekk's tail and crushed it, causing immense pain to the youngster, "All to often, if it looks too good to be true it _is_ too good to be true. Be weary of the obvious. Expect feints and subterfuge at all times because while you stare blindly at that weak spot the real attack will come from elsewhere."

"How many times do I have to beat some sense in you, young master Movekk," Tubera would say after Movekk found himself cringing in pain on the ground, arms wrapped around his aching stomach, "You are neither a Saiyan Elite, nor as gifted as they are. Now stop making the same kind of moves they make and act like you have a brain."

Yes, Belmovekk was fortunate indeed that old man Tubera wasn't here to see him now. Although he had a feeling that he would get to meet him in the afterlife. A little sooner then he had hoped for but such was the journey that was life. To die in combat was no shame. His only regret was that he could not have helped Buffy and had thus failed both her and his wife.

If only he wasn't so damn exhausted.

And had some ten million points of extra power to spare.

Again old man Tubera entered his mind.

 _Stop wishing for what you want and use what you have instead!_

Well, what do I still have?

Not enough energy. Aching muscles all over. Not enough time.

 _How about an enemy who isn't that smart and who even now is gloating above you?_

And how do I use that to my advantage?

 _That depends on how much piss and vinegar is still left in you, young master Movekk? How far are you willing to go?_

All the way!

 _Then you know what you have to do._

Belmovekk looked up at his opponent, the Majin, who was now floating a few meters above him.

Despite his superior strength he could see that the battle had taken its toll on the demon as well. Despite the Majin's gloating exterior its power had gone down as well, and the rapid heaving of its chest indicated that it was out of breath too.

When the chips were down there was still one move left to a Saiyan.

Total matter conversion.

It was basically a suicide move in which the Saiyan converted not only his life force, but his very being into one last attack. But it would have to be guided, for any explosion directed its energy in all directions which meant the Majin would only be hit by a portion of the blast, not the full blast. He would have to channel all that energy towards the Majin.

As he gathered in his remaining energy Belmovekk hoped that destroying the Majin would give Buffy the chance she would need to escape the clutches of Anubis.

x

* * *

x

"Hmm, what would happen if I were to pick this up?" Xander smiled in the medical/torture room back on Earth.

"NO!" Anubis yelled in desperation on his stronghold planet as the Slayer had picked up the urn of the Majin and examined it closely.

The Slayer smirked as she looked at him with her cold blue green eyes.

"You need this to control your puppet, don't you, Newby?" Xander said in the medical/torture room back on Earth.

"You do not understand, Slayer," Anubis said on his world, "That thing is the only real means to control the Majin. Without it he would eventually break free!"

The Slayer examined the urn up close.

"So despite your little remote control you still need your little time out box to control your pet," Xander smirked back on Earth.

The Slayer gave Anubis an impish wink, then she crushed the urn in her and crumpled it into a ball, then threw it contemptuously over her shoulder.

"Are you crazy?" Anubis said aghast, "Now we no longer have a means to control the Majin!"

The Slayer's smirk disappeared of her face and turned serious.

"You are wrong," Xander said back on Earth, "there is still one way left."

With that the Slayer moved lightning fast until she was up close to Anubis, then she took his hand with the control ring, grabbed the finger with the ring and tore it off.

While Anubis fell to his knees in pain the Slayer pulled the ring of his finger then she examined it as well.

"Such a tiny thing," Xander said almost admiringly back on Earth, "Such a little thing."

Then the Slayer crushed the ring as well.

x

* * *

x

 _Submit!_

Adam's will was being forced onto Faith with the subtlety of a Mötorhead concert

 _Resign!_

Despite her best efforts and an enjoinment spell Faith felt herself slip to his Darth Vader routine.

 _Obey!_

It probably didn't help that by his own admission he had been releasing his juju on her for a while now.

"Join me, Faith, Adam's voice said, "Join me and together we shall rule the Earth."

All he needed was a automatic respirator and a black helmet to complete the picture. It shouldn't be working, it was corny, it made no sense. And yet….

x

* * *

x

Why was she still holding out?

For more then a week she had been subjected to his call, ever since returning to this continent. And still she had not completely given herself over to him. If it took much longer he would have to resort to plan B. And he didn't particularly care much for plan B because that was basically what They had had in mind all along.

But he may not have a choice for much longer. Even now in the main Initiative complex things had gone fubar. His carefully planned ambush derailed by the arrival of Piccolo. And his brother Spike turning out to be a bitter disappointments since their reunion. He might even be lost to him by now.

But Spike was expendable as far as Adam was concerned. Who he really wanted was Faith. Preferably alive with his implants, but if need be dead with his implants. But he had to have her, one way or another.

x

* * *

x

 _Join me!_

 _Submit!_

The pressure was getting unbearable for Faith, who felt like Luke Skywalker who was at the receiving end of the Emperor's Force lighting. And in the movie the Emperor was killing him with it. Only the love of his father had saved Luke from the Emperor's wrath. And unlike Luke and the Emperor, there was no Darth Vader father figure present between Faith and Adam.

Or was there?

Just as she was about to submit Faith felt something long and snakelike slide along her neck. Then it tightened to a painful squeeze and pulled her away.

Into the Sunnydale Mayor's office.

As Faith stood in the sunlit room whatever had been wrapped around her neck was gone. She did check though as she gasped for breath.

"Hello Faith," a voice said cheerfully behind her.

That voice!

As Faith slowly turned around she saw major Richard Wilkins III sitting behind his desk. Considering that he was dead and buried the former mayor looked in quite good shape.

"Nice to see you again, Firecracker," Wilkins said as he stood and walked towards Faith, extending his arms to embrace her.

"Uh," Faith said with eyes big as saucers as she recoiled, "You're dead, boss."

Wilkins smiled as he finally put his hands on her shoulders.

"What is a little death between friends?" he said as he took her into his arms, then he whispered in her ear, "I heard what you said over my grave. I was quite…., touched."

"You did?" Faith said as she wasn't sure as to break free from his embrace or embrace it. Fortunately for her Wilkins decided for her by letting go.

"You look great, Firecracker," Wilkins smiled as he stepped backwards to look at her, "Look at you, you're in great shape, a healthy tan, no unwanted fat whatsoever. Whatever that Piccolo has you do, let him do more of it."

Not sure what to make of this strange transition Faith asked the only thing that she could think off.

"Am I dead?"

Wilkins smile disappeared and he looked at her frowning.

"Now why on Earth would you think that?" he asked her.

"I dunno, Boss," she shrugged, "Because you're dead and I was in some room with an evil cyborg."

"Oh yes, the current problem," Wilkins nodded, then he stood up and walked towards the small cart on which stood a small collection of alcoholic beverages, "You don't mind if I pour myself something? It is not too often that I get the chance to enjoy these any more."

"Knock yourself out, Boss," Faith replied.

"Thanks," Wilkins said as he poured himself a drink, "I would offer you some but you know the law, no teenage drinking, and your mind doesn't seem to have come up with anything else."

"I'm not thirsty," Faith said, then her face clouded over, "What do you mean being inside my mind?"

"Ah, this tastes great, I missed that," Wilkins sighed as he took a sip from the glass he had poured, then he turned around, "Well, where else did you expect we were, Faith? Some pocket-dimension. Or…"

Wilkins stopped talking and smiled.

"I forget who I'm dealing with," he smiled and walked over to Faith, to tap her on the forehead, "I'm afraid you're still in Kansas, Firecracker, or should I say, Ohio? You're still in that bunker with that cyborg who's whispering sweet nothings into your ear. "

"What's wrong with me?" Faith said as Wilkins sat down on his desk and took another sip.

"Simple," Wilkins said, "They have enabled this construct to put his psychic hooks into you and he's reeling you in like a fish. And once he does he's going to install all sorts of nasty things in you that make you no longer you and instead turn you into his, dare I say queen?"

Before Faith could reply Wilkins' face turned serious.

"I won't stand for it," he said. Then he emptied the glass in one gulp, stood up and walked over to his cabinet, the one that held some of his many magic paraphernalia.

"What do you mean?" Faith asked.

"You may have noticed that your dreams were always interrupted before they came to full fruition," Wilkins said as he opened the cabinet, "That was me. Unfortunately, with every day Adam's power grew and I could no longer stop the dreams in time. And so his hold over you grew."

Faith reached for her neck, still feeling like some invisible snake thing was around her neck.

"That was you?" she asked incredulously, "How….? Why….?"

"You would not understand the how, Firecracker," Wilkins replied, still rummaging in his cabinet, "If I tried to explain you'd get the look in no time. And you know damn well which look."

"Then how about the why?" Faith said, "You're evil. Why do you care? Shouldn't you be rooting for the guy?"

Wilkins stopped rummaging in his cabinet in order to look at her.

"Just because I am evil doesn't mean I don't love you?" he said incredulously, "Have I ever betrayed you?"

"You let them take me away," Faith countered, "You struck a deal with Big B. so they could take me away."

Wilkins looked at her and shook his head.

"It was a Mexican standoff situation, Faith," he said, "They had you and took you away. Other then killing them there wasn't a whole lot I could have done. I wasn't ready yet either. Unless you wanted for me to threaten them to kill random civilians until they returned you to me. And you know you don't want that on your conscious. Maybe then, but not now, right?"

"I suppose," Faith admitted.

"I know you don't," Wilkins smiled, "Now, let me help you."

Wilkins pulled forth a tinfoil hat from his magic cabinet.

"A tinfoil hat?" Faith said incredulously as Wilkins held it out for her, like it was some sort of crown, "Are you serious?"

"Hush," Wilkins said, "of course it's not a tinfoil hat. It's way more then that. Your mind, which I might add is flighty enough as it is, only sees it like that. This will shield you from Adam."

Wilkins took the tinfoil hat and hovered it above her head.

"Now be still, this has to done very carefully."

"Why are you doing this, Boss?" Faith asked again wearily.

"Because I care about you? Is that so hard to understand?" Wilkins replied, "Don't move."

"Surely that's not the only motive?" Faith asked, "Or are you going to watch over me from the afterlife all the time?"

"No, Piccolo was right in that respect," Wilkins said, "If I don't let you handle things on your own you would never grow up. It's a one time thing. For good times sake."

"Besides, the universe consists of three things, Faith, "energy, matter and enlightened self-interest. Guess which currently suits my current employer?"

And with that Wilkins placed the tinfoil hat on Faith's head.

"There," the former mayor of Sunnydale smiled, "all done."

"I don't feel any different," Faith said as she looked at her reflection in a small mirror, "Other then feeling pretty stupid."

She really did look stupid.

"Always the impatient one," Wilkins sighed dejected, "in a moment, Firecracker. Now remember, once you're free of Adam's control it's all up to you. So you'd better hit him with everything you've got cause he ain't no pushover. As your friend Xander found out."

The mention of his name caused Faith's face to cloudy up.

"What if I can't do it?" she said, "What if Adam's still too strong? I know I've got Red's juju and G.'s knowledge, but I don't have Xander's strength."

"Yeah, I guess their spell went a little wrong," Wilkins nodded appraisingly, "But then again, my boss isn't the only one who's meddling. I'd say use your brain. It needs some exercise too, you know. Take care, Firecracker, and keep eating healthy, it's good for you."

"Love you too, Boss," Faith smiled back, "even if you're one evil SOB!"

"Bite your head off," Wilkins smiled and pulled a pair of sunglasses from his jacket which he put on, "Do I look the part?"

"Absofragginlutely!" Faith beamed.

And with that she was back in room 314.

"Join me, Faith," Adam whispered in her ear, "the others, they lie. They are using you. They….."

Before he could finish his sentence Faith lashed out and sent him crashing into his battery of CCTV monitors.

"I don't think so, Robocop," Willow hissed in the medical/torture room as she began to smile, "Let's fuckin' rock!"

x

* * *

x

Belmovekk was about ready to unleash his final energy attack in a suicide strike at the Majin when the demon began to scream.

"GHRJAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Clutching his head the demon flew off, came to a stop, moved again and stopped again, all the while screaming its lungs off. Then the screaming stopped.

Both curious and because he had to be close to the Majin Belmovekk rose into the air and flew towards the Majin.

"Demon, face me," the Saiyan yelled defiantly.

The Majin didn't respond, it just hung there panting in the air.

"DEMON!" Belmovekk yelled again, "In the name of Aldur, face me!"

Slowly the Majin turned its head around.

And shocked Belmovekk as both looked each other in the eyes.

It's eyes! The Majin's eyes had changed.

There was not a shred of intelligence left in them.

x

* * *

x

"Are you insane?" Anubis yelled after the Slayer dropped the crumbled remains of his control ring to the floor."

"Gee," Xander smiled in the medical/torture room back on Earth, "You unleashed a demon so dangerous even you couldn't control it, so you had to find a group of human sacrificing nutcases to help you get into the body of a Slayer so you could finally control your demon. And don't get me started on the way you got me to begin with. And _I'm_ the one supposed to be insane?"

"You do not understand what you just did, Slayer," Anubis wailed as the Slayer slowly walked towards him and he backed away, "Nothing can stop the Majin now!"

"Except maybe….. a Slayer?" Xander said back on Earth, then his face turned into a malicious grin, "Time to die, Newby."

"NOOOOOOOO!" Anubis yelled, then his scream stopped as he was enveloped by pure energy.

x

* * *

x

To her horror Faith learned that despite having shaken off Adam's mind control she still could not defeat him physically. Xander had been right. Fighting Adam in hand to hand combat was like hitting a brick wall reinforced with Super Saiyan chi. Hell, she wasn't even sure a Super Saiyan could defeat this thing cause it was wicked smart.

Everything she did, every move she made, Adam not only seemed to counter, he actually seemed to be able to copy it. What the hell had these Initiative goons built?

"This is futile, Faith," Adam said impassionedly, "You are only delaying the inevitable. Why don't you just submit?"

"Still riding that same old stick, Robocop?" Faith grunted as she blocked another attack

Inside the medical/torture room Giles spoke up.

"Haven't we been through that?"

"Then so be it!" Adam said, sounding almost regretful, "If you can't serve me in life then I will make you serve me in death."

Knowing there was a whole Initiative out there full of the dead being brought back to life using electronics, that prospect scared Faith more then anything. So she fought on with greater determination.

x

* * *

x

While he was still exhausted Belmovekk couldn't believe his luck as he battled the Majin again. That thing had absolutely no intelligence left in it anymore. It was operating on pure instinct. Fending off its attacks was child's play now.

With the Majin behaving like an animal Belmovekk now had a fighting chance. Instinctive behavior could be figured out and be used against. Of course it took time. But he now had hope again that Buffy was alright. Not unless Aldur himself had appeared again and taken a personal hand in removing the Majin's intelligence.

He was starting to make headway into figuring the Majin out when suddenly a massive blast occurred not far from them. Below on the ground, not far from where Belmovekk had teleported into this world a fireball erupted like an underground volcano.

Both the Majin and Belmovekk stopped fighting for a moment as they observed the explosion and the rising mushroom cloud in its wake.

"Buffy?" Belmovekk said with a sudden rising feeling. Because that was the place where he figured she was being held. Then the Majin moved and flew towards the mushroom cloud and the fireball at its center.

"Great, so it likes shiny fireballs," the Saiyan muttered as he gave chase. Closer the Majin neared the fireball until he was almost at the mushroom cloud's edge. And there, just as the dust and heat began to interact with the already dust filled clouds, the fireball and mushroom clouds began to dissipate from within.

Dissipating from within until all that was left was Buffy hanging there in the air.

But she wasn't the Buffy that Belmovekk had seen last time.

"Buffy?" he said flabbergasted as he noticed the electrical discharges that arced around her. And her eyes, it was like he was watching himself in a mirror.

In an Initiative medical/torture room Xander began to smirk.

"Hey, Shortie," he said, "Pick on someone your own size."

x

* * *

x

Inside the Initiative Faith was being pounded into a wall by Adam who was firing almost machine gun like blasts of energy at Faith, each one hammering her like a sledgehammer.

How could she be losing? She was at the focus point of a powerful spell meant to enhance her abilities. Gaining the power of three persons. G. had made such a fuss that it was such a dangerous spell, but that the potential benefits outweighed the possible dangers. So why was she missing out on Xander's power?

" _Quit your jibbajabbin'!"_ a voice spoke in her mind.

What the hell? Was Wilkins' tinfoil hat failing already?

Then it dawned on her.

 _Jolly Green?_

" _Finally,"_ the Namek's thoughts came back, _"Why have you not finished with this clown?"_

" _He's kinda hard to deal with, Jolly Green,"_ Faith replied, " _I'm sort of lacking in power department."_

For a moment there was no immediately reply, just the steady attacks coming from Adam. Then Piccolo came in so loud it almost made Faith cover her ears if it weren't for the facts that A: it was telepathy and B: she needed her hands to ward off Adam's attacks.

" _Have I taught you nothing! It is not always about being the strongest! It's about being smarter. For once in your life use that brain of yours. I know it's a rarely used muscle, but for Kami's sake, that thing can do more then help you come up with stuff to masturbate over. You are the focal point of one of the most powerful spells I've come across."_

" _Yeah but I'm missing Xander's power,"_ Faith protested.

" _So? What about Rupert's wisdom and knowledge? Oh, I forgot, that's kryptonite to you. How about Willow's sorcery then? Surely all that magic that's bursting over could be put to some good use? Now stop thinking one dimensionally, kill that thing so we can all go home!"_

Faith couldn't believe her ears. It was easy for Jolly Green to talk! He was not at the receiving end of a murderous cyborg who wanted to turn her into his Borg Queen!

And yet….

Jolly Green did have a point though. All this fussing over power had distracted her from using what she did have.

And Red had indeed untapped reserves of power at her disposal.

Even if it was of the kind that she wasn't used too.

x

* * *

x

He still wasn't sure how she had pulled it off, but somehow Faith had found it in herself to throw off his mental hold off her and actively resist.

And with that she had nailed the coffin on Adam's original plan. Now all that was left was to carry out Their original plan and kill the girl. Maybe if he was lucky he could salvage something from the situation by returning her back to life like he had with the others. But he doubted she would be anything but the girl she could have been.

It was while he was bombarded her with his endless reserves of power that something changed.

She began to use magic against him!

"Interesting," he said as he noticed that she had erected a barrier of sheer magic between them to ward off his attacks, "Magic, the application of supernatural power to supersede or alter the workings of the natural laws of physics."

Then from behind the safety of her shield she began to throw balls of fire at him instead. Which he now had to fend off himself. She could have only learned this from the sorceress, Willow Rosenberg.

In an instant Adam accessed every piece of data he had on Willow and sorcery. Sorcery was the use of magic, not from utilizing borrowed power through spells and incantations, but from one's own power. Sorcery was extremely rare on this planet because people who had such power were preyed upon by other magic practitioners who coveted their power. Sorcery was utilized by shaping one's internal power through one's will and then released through the utterance of word.

Besides his combined power source of an enhanced Gero type infinite energy reactor and that of a naquadria reactor, Dr. Walsh had bequeathed Adam with one other technological marvel, her brilliant adaptive counter behavior programming. It allowed Adam to swiftly counter, copy and come up with effective strategies to tactics being used against him.

One of the biggest reasons why most people couldn't use magic, if not the biggest, was suspension of disbelief. Magic had actually played a far greater role in ancient times, a role now dismissed by a more skeptical age. Simply put, when people stopped believing in magic, it stopped being as pervasive as it used to be. Or to put it reversely, in order for a person to use magic he or she has to overcome his own skepticism.

This was exceedingly hard for modern humans.

But for Adam it meant nothing as he had no disbelief to begin with. For him magic was a definition, not a belief system. And when he was confronted with magic and the need to counter it his adaptive counter behavior programming concluded that the best course of action was to write a new subroutine that made Adam believe that he could use his own power, shape it through his will and then release it with the utterance of a word.

"Stop!" Adam said as he raised his hand and suddenly Faith's fireballs stopped in mid air.

x

* * *

x

Belmovekk didn't know what had happened to Buffy, but he didn't detect any Goa'uld presence inside her. That of course didn't mean anything as Anubis was no ordinary worm. He was energy. Or so Amūn had claimed.

But he detected no Goa'uld like energy either, although he did detect a whole lot of other strange energies coming from her. At least she appeared to be on his side as she fought the Majin. So they double teamed on the demon.

As they did Belmovekk kept an eye on Buffy. Whatever had happened to her had increased her power greatly, bringing her close to Super Saiyan levels.

But not quite.

As she soon learned as her new found power also came with new found brazenness. While the demon was being pounded between the two of them, from time to time it still managed to get in a good one.

In this case the demon managed to tear into her side, causing a giant gash that hurt her greatly.

As Buffy fell from the sky clutching her wound in pain Belmovekk attacked the demon in utter fury.

"KEEP!"

"YOUR!"

"HANDS!"

"OFF!"

"HER!"

Each word was accompanied with an attack that had the beast reeling. But still it wasn't enough to cause critical damage to the demon.

What in the name of Aldur did it take to finish this thing off?

Taking some distance from the beast Belmovekk used his fingernails to make diagonal slashes on his hand palms. Blood began to well from his wounds until two globes of red energy began to form in each hand and the blood started to mix with the energy. Above him dark clouds began to gather as the Saiyan used the energy that had been previously unleashed on this planet and stored in the atmosphere to merge with his own attack and strengthen it.

Once he had gathered enough power and before the beast could attack him he fired off his attack.

"FIRE AND BLOOD!"

The time had finally come to destroy that thing. Or be destroyed together.

x

* * *

x

Faith used magical attack upon magical attack against Adam.

She was magnificent.

Which made it all the sadder for Adam that he now had to kill her.

Adam may have lost his battery of CCTV monitors, it still didn't mean that he had lost access to the Initiative monitoring system. Having a direct wireless access meant that he knew that elsewhere Piccolo and Riley's men had taken care of his forces and were doing their best to break down the containment shield, originally meant to contain a demon outbreak, but now the only thing that kept them from coming to Faith's aid.

There was now an 84% chance of imminent shield failure in the next two minutes, with an 96% chance of him not being able to defeat and neutralize Faith in that time. And he could not come up with a strategy to better those odds. Plan B, killing Faith and rebuilding her body, was now officially also out of the door and plan C was now in effect. Just kill her and escape.

But in order to kill her he still needed to defeat her first. Luckily not having to retrieve her body simplified that process considerably.

He saw his chance when he noticed that Faith neutralized some of his magical attacks by disintegrating them.

"Be not!" she had said just before a massive attack faded into nothingness. She unmade his attacks! It stood to reason that such a powerful defense could be used to one's advantage if one applied the full force of one's power to the problem at hand..

So Adam gathered the power of his will and unleashed it at Faith.

"Be not!" he said.

The effect was not quite what he had hoped for.

For Faith began to smile.

x

* * *

x

"FIRE AND BLOOD"

With that battle cry Belmovekk unleashed everything he still had and everything he could gather from his surroundings at the Majin. Lightning began to discharge from the thunderclouds overhead and added their energy to the attack. As the attack struck the Majin heads on the beast began to slip. Mindlessly it tried to resist, tearing and clawing at the blood red beam that was pushing it ever more backwards.

But slowly, and at a decreasing pace.

And Belmovekk knew what that meant. You didn't want to see your attack be pushed back towards you in a battle of attrition.

He tried to pour more of his being into it, halting the decrease for a moment.

But he didn't have much to give any more and the decrease increased.

Just when it seemed like the Majin had succeeded in reversing the momentum of Belmovekk's attack he heard another cry.

"KAMEHAMEHA!"

From below a pale blue attack shot upwards.

But instead of striking the Majin it wrapped itself around Belmovekk's Fire and Blood attack and spiraled around it until it struck the Majin simultaneously with the Fire and Blood stream.

As the Kamehameha wave spiraled around the Fire and Blood wave strange energies began to crackle between the two attacks, creating a harmonious synergy. To his surprise Belmovekk noticed that he could feel the power of his own attack increase vastly.

"Buffy!" he grunted approvingly as he saw the source of the Kamehameha wave below.

Confronted with this strange combined attack the Majin began to slip again, this time at an ever increasing rate.

And then came the point that the Majin couldn't take it no more. As the two beams energy overwhelmed him it began to consume him.

Crying out one last time the Majin was corroded and then evaporated until there was nothing left of him.

At which point the combined beam veered upwards into space to dissipate there harmlessly.

x

* * *

x

Instead of Faith dissipating into nothingness Adam felt the unthinkable. His own power was somehow reflected back towards him and he began to glow.

"I do not understand?" he said as small flames of energy began to rise from his body.

"You tried to unmake me," Giles said with a growing smile in the medical/torture room, "The universe does not allow for such an act to take happen."

"If you do your Will will bound off your target and be cast back at you," Willow said in the same room.

"I see," Adam said calmly in the remains of room 314 as he watched more and more energy rise from his body, "Then how did you unmake my attacks?"

"I did not," Willow said elsewhere.

"I merely teleported them into the skies above and made it look like I was," Giles said finishing the sentence.

"Very clever," Adam said approvingly in room 314, "What will happen to me?"

"You will be unmade into nothingness," Willow's voice replied elsewhere.

"I understand," Adam said in room 314 in his flat monotonous voice, "For what it is worth, Faith, I am glad you won and foiled Their plans."

"Who are They?" Giles' spoke in the medical/torture room.

"Don't you know?" Adam said surprised, "They are…..Aaaaahhh!"

The very essence that had been Adam now began to unravel very fast, then dissipate as his outline faded away until all that was left was some swirling energy that then also dissolved.

Then, in the medical/torture room Xander spoke up.

"It is done."

Next thing on two worlds two Slayers collapsed as the enjoinment spell came to a close.


	12. Chapter Nine

**Chapter 9**

' **War Within a Breath''**

x

x

AN: _Part of this chapter was originally going to be part of the epilogue, but more and more stuff got added so I decided to make it its own chapter. And then I dumped some of the concluding bits of chapter 8 in it. So now you know. And probably don't give a shit. That's okay. As long as you remember to tip the writer by feeding him a couple of peanuts and compliments. You know, the stuff that makes writers happy and keeps them going. ;_ )

x

* * *

x

A-day minus 248

x

As soon as he saw Buffy fall from the sky Belmovekk raced down and caught her, putting her down gently on the ground.

"Rest, young lady," he said lovingly as he used his will to create a soft pillow out of nowhere for her, which he then put underneath her head. As he did he also did a quick examination of her wound and the strange energies inside her. To his surprise they were both gone.

"Torak's Teeth!" Belmovekk exclaimed in surprise as he examined where she had been hit. It was like it had never existed.

As he spoke Buffy opened her eyes.

"Belmo," she said softly, fatigue pouring out of her very being.

"Ssshh," Belmovekk said gently as he caressed her hair, "rest. Everything will be fine, young lady."

"I knew you would come," Buffy smiled, then she closed her eyes.

"Like there was any doubt?" Belmovekk said, then he bent over and kissed her forehead, "I love you, my daughter."

"Love you too, dad," she whispered back softly. Then she was out cold.

Now that she was safely back in his hands Belmovekk sat down next to her and used his will to create some food. He was starving!

As he ate he suddenly looked up into the skies.

"By the Seven Hells," he said flabbergasted, "Who would have guessed?"

x

* * *

x

In one of the rooms of the Initiative Spike sat on a small chair, closely guarded by four soldiers. He contemplated escaping but knew his chip wouldn't allow for him to attack the soldiers. Even though he probably easily could have done so. He even contemplated using the same blinding trick he had used to escape the Initiative. It might work on these four but the base was still crawling with soldiers. And unlike his earlier escape this time he wouldn't be allowed to escape. As Adam had done.

No, it looked like this time he would have to talk himself out of it. Too bad the Slayer and the Big Scary weren't around. At least with them he knew a few buttons he could push to get what he wanted. With the big green guy however…..

In a sense dying wasn't the worst part. It was the waiting. And Spike wished he still had a few cigarettes to help him pass the time. Well, if he was going to die, at least he would do so while wearing his old leather trench coat again.

Unknown to Spike the mirror on one wall was of the see through kind and on the other side Piccolo, Riley, Jamison together with a very exhausted Giles and Xander were watching him.

"He claims he was programmed to betray us by Adam," Riley said, his arms folded across his chest.

"You believe him?" Jamison asked.

"I think he didn't resist much," Riley replied deadpan.

"I think you're right," Xander echoed, covered in a blanket, "Even at his best behavior Spike is as trustworthy as a politician during election time."

"Xander's right," Giles said, "Spike's too much of a risk even at the best of times, let alone in his current 'enhanced' condition."

"I agree," Riley said.

"So we're in agreement then," Jamison said as he looked around the room, "this vampire will be terminated?"

"Yes," almost everybody said.

"No," a lone voice said in opposition.

It was Piccolo.

x

* * *

x

"Christ!"

"My sentiments exactly, Jack."

The Tok'ra Selmak had landed his shuttle on a planet that once was the capital planet of the Goa'uld Imiut.

It was now a windswept wasteland where thunder and rain were dominating the weather as the atmosphere tried to get rid of all the dust and debris that was still in it.

"How many people lived here?" Sam asked the Tok'ra, who was also her father.

"1.4 billion according to Imiut's last census," Selmak said as he checked his information pad.

"Christ!" Jack exclaimed again.

"We're dealing with the biggest mass murderer in history here," Sam said bewildered, "we've put people on trial for less. The Yugoslavia court, the Rwanda tribunal, Nuremburg…. We've put people on trial for less."

"They took from him that which was precious," Teal'c said stoically, "Have we done any less under such circumstances?"

"But Teal'c," Carter protested and pointed around herself, "1.4 billon! Most of them were innocent!"

"They served Imiut," the Jaffa shrugged.

"That means they're misguided," Sam countered, "it doesn't mean they deserve to die!"

"The Jaffa we kill in battle that serve the Goa'uld are also misguided," Teal'c said unimpressed, "we do not mourn their passing as a great crime on our part."

"That's…., that's different," Sam said softly.

"Is it?" the Jaffa shrugged, "Satiya is a man of great passion. And of great grief as well. Anubis was wrong to challenge him. And his allies paid for Anubis' folly in blood. I only wish this had been Anubis' world."

"Trust the bugger not to do the right thing," O'Neill muttered and turned around, "I've seen enough. Let's go, I've had my fill of senseless slaughter today."

SG-1 and the Tok'ra turned around and returned to the shuttle craft. Except for Jonas Quinn who was sitting on his heels as he was digging in the earth to extract something. As he pushed away ash and earth he recovered something which he held up.

It was a child's doll missing an arm.

Jonas stared at the doll for a moment, then he looked in the hole that he had dug and noticed the charred remains of a small hand.

"Are you coming, Jonas?" Sam's voice called from the Tok'ra shuttle craft.

"I'm coming," Jonas replied as he put the doll back and covered the hole up with ash and dirt. Then he got up and left for the shuttle.

x

* * *

x

A day minus 247

x

By contrast on Anubis' former capital planet there were still Jaffa and people left. But they wisely chose to stay away from the two people they feared even more then their own lord and master. A minor exodus was even taking place through the Stargate as there were no more orders coming from Anubis and some thought it was prudent to be elsewhere..

On his make do camp site Belmovekk stared into the heavens as a falling star in the distance grew steadily in size and moved towards him and Buffy, who was still sleeping.

Glancing briefly at the sleeping girl, his daughter, the Saiyan smiled, then he looked up again as he could finally make out the silhouette of what was a Capsule Corp. space ship, hell, it was their only space ship.

As it neared them the noise of the descending spaceship awoke Buffy.

"What….?" she said groggy as a thunderous noise grew ever louder, then she looked around, "Belmo?"

"I am here, young lady," the Saiyan said as he knelt next to her, "How are you?"

"Like I've studied for a French exam," she said, then she looked up, "What's that?"

"It could be our ride home," Belmovekk said as he briefly glanced upwards to the descending spaceship.

"What do you mean?" Buffy said, then she looked up again and understood, "Oh."

x

* * *

x

For almost a year it had been a mystery amongst the Z fighters that nobody knew. Except maybe Bulma. But she wasn't telling anyone.

Where was Vegeta?

The self styled Prince of all Saiyans (and irreverently styled Prince of all Assholes behind his back) had suddenly disappeared off the face of the Earth.

It turned out this was literally the case.

After he had come to the conclusion that his current training regime wasn't bringing him any closer to the desired transformation of Super Saiyan Vegeta had at first gone walkabout on Earth. Immersing himself in Earth culture, traveling from city to city as he tried to understand what was by now probably his new home world.

Goku had fought for this place and he had risen to become the first Super Saiyan in living memory. Maybe if he understood why he understood how Goku had done so.

Immersing himself in Earth culture was not the success he had hoped for. Most Earthlings led shallow lives in shallow cultures and tried to make their lives more bearable using sex, drugs and alcohol. There were a few places on this Earth where there existed some cultures of value. In India Vegeta sought out the wisdom of gurus, in the Middle East that of Sufis, other places had their wise men as well. He studied the local martial arts and while he learned a little a value, it wasn't the knowledge he was after.

So finally he abandoned his search on Earth altogether.

Maybe the answers weren't on Earth. Maybe the answers Vegeta sought came from within. So Vegeta returned to San Francisco, had a huge fight with Bulma over his offspring, stormed out of the Briefs' home and took their space ship. The one Bulma's father had built for Goku so he could travel to planet Namek.

At least in space there were no distractions.

In space he searched for ways to become a Super Saiyan.

And somewhere along the way he found a little of himself as well.

He was journeying to the outer reaches of the galaxy when to his surprise he suddenly sensed the unmistaken chi of a Super Saiyan. And something else as well, locked in brutal combat with the Super Saiyan. And to his astonishment he recognized the chi of that Super Saiyan.

So he changed course and made for that planet. By the time he passed the Oort cloud the fight had changed and for a brief moment a third chi entered the fight, something that was…. Saiyanish. But mostly something else. Then the fight was over, the mysterious 2nd chi vanished, soon followed by the 3rd. Leaving only the Saiyan chi. It stopped being Super Saiyan, dropping to normal Saiyan, rapidly decreasing in strength as well to a more mundane level.

But now Vegeta knew where to look and continued his journey until he finally reached the planet.

The planet had the all the hallmarks of being a Goa'uld fortress planet. But even though there was a shipyard in orbit there were none of their odd shaped battlecruisers to be found. And he could see from space that either a major catastrophe had befallen this world, or Super Saiyans had fought here.

From orbit he could detect a Saiyan chi on the hardest hit continent so he aimed his ship for that. Breaking through the atmosphere he encountered no resistance and continued his descent. Then he neared the ground and saw the signs of massive explosions having taken place. The battle must have been truly epic. And deep inside Vegeta stirred a regret that he hadn't been there to be part of it. It would have been glorious!

Aiming for a low set of hills Vegeta looked outside and saw two figures standing in the distance. One he expected to see.

The other came as a complete surprise.

x

* * *

x

As Vegeta's space ship landed not far from them Belmovekk put his arms around Buffy's shoulder.

"Shall we go meet our prince?" the Saiyan smiled at her.

"Aw crap" Buffy said as she realized that as part of his family he was now also her prince, then she began to pout, "But I'm not going to bow to him and kiss his royal heiny."

"Play nice, young lady," Belmovekk chuckled, "He is after all our ticket home."

x

* * *

x

A day minus 242

x

"Auw!"

"Sit still."

"Watch were you're putting that thing, woman!"

"Then sit still, you crazy vampire!"

"I can't when you're prodding inside my brain, you crazy bird!"

"And I can't watch where I'm poking while you keep squirming in your seat, you breathing corpse!"

As Bulma was busy working on Spike in the dinner room at the Summers home at 1630 Revello Drive, Piccolo, Belmovekk and Giles were watching the two from inside the Summers' living room.

"He claims he betrayed us because he was programmed too," Giles said to the Saiyan.

"Do you believe him?" Belmovekk asked the former Watcher.

"Who knows?" Giles said after some thinking, "Bulma thinks she did find some residual programming left by Adam. Personally I agree with Riley. I don't think he resisted much against his reprogramming. Treachery's in his blood. If it weren't for Piccolo's objection we would have killed him and be done with it."

Belmovekk looked at Piccolo.

"Why did you not want for the vampire to die?" he asked the Namek.

"It is one thing to kill in battle," the Namek shrugged, "it's a whole different thing to execute somebody in cold blood. Even him."

"But it's Spike," Giles countered, "he always finds ways to cause trouble. Usually for us."

Piccolo stared long at Spike, then he turned around and looked through the front window outside.

"Once they thought the same thing about me," he said softly, "When Goku had defeated me they all argued to Goku that he should kill me. Even Kami, knowing fully well that he would die with me. Even Kami thought the world would be better off without me."

"I remember that moment," Bulma called from the other room, "We all thought Goku was crazy when he refused to kill you."

"Goku has this way that he sees the best in people," Piccolo continued, "Since he let me live I think it's time I repay that debt and let the vampire live. Despite what he himself may think I think there's potential for good inside him."

Before Belmovekk or Giles could reply Spike let out a loud snort.

"Sorry Big Guy," he snorted, "Even I think that's a load of rubbish."

"Perhaps," Piccolo shrugged again, "time will tell. That's why I asked Bulma not to remove your control chip. Just to be safe."

"You didn't?" Spike said looking at Bulma, "How could y….. AUW!"

"I told you to sit still, didn't I?" Bulma's voice said from the other room.

"You did that on purpose," Spike muttered aggrieved.

Now that the Spike situation was 'under control' the three 'wise men' retired to the kitchen where Belmovekk retrieved some soda's for him and Giles and a mineral water for Piccolo.

"So," Belmovekk said as he opened his can, "Do you have any explanation as to what has happened? Why the spell went awry?"

"Faith said that Adam used mind control to try and win her over," Piccolo said, "that he appeared in her dreams, like those prophetic dreams Slayers are supposed to have. Adam claimed that some shadowy group he called Them gave him that ability. That They wanted her dead."

"Buffy said she also had prophetic dreams," Belmovekk said as he sipped from his can, "That she saw the Majin attack me and kill me. That is why she insisted on coming along."

"Two different Slayers, two different dreams," Piccolo said as he sipped from his bottle, "Coincidence?"

"There are no coincidences," Belmovekk said, "only connections that have not been exposed yet. I can only conclude that since both Anubis and Adam wanted to possess a Slayer somebody wants them out of the way."

"It looks that way," Piccolo echoed. Then Giles threw a small packet of powder on the kitchen table.

"What's that?" Piccolo asked as he picked it up and examined it.

"An ingredient," Giles said as Belmovekk signaled Piccolo to give the packet to him, "a crucial ingredient in the enjoinment spell. I found it today in a crease of my sofa."

"You forgot it?" Piccolo said incredulously, "I never figured you for the forgetful type, Rupert. At least when it came to magic."

"I didn't," Giles said with a hint of injured pride, then he reached inside his jacket and pulled forth a packet of powder that was mostly empty and gave it to Piccolo, "When we were about to leave for Cleveland I almost forgot the first packet. So I went back inside the house to get it. Great was my surprise when I found Daniel Jackson sitting in my living room."

"Who's Daniel Jackson?" Piccolo asked as he gave the empty packet to Belmovekk.

"Daniel Jackson was a scholar and member of SG-1," Belmovekk explained, "But he died of massive radiation poisoning around the time of the Battle of Sunnydale. Which means….., was he the First?"

"I don't think so," Giles said shaking his head, "By all accounts the First only appears to tell lies and falsehoods to take away hope. He never appears to come by and forgive people and help them."

"This conversation is getting increasingly hard to follow," Piccolo remarked, "Maybe I should get a list of all the dead people you people talk too."

"The First is not dead, he…." Belmovekk said, then he looked at Giles, "well, what is he actually?"

"A primeval force of evil who claims to be the original source of evil who appears in the guise of the deceased," Giles explained, "he appeared last Christmas to torment Angel into killing himself and…."

Giles wanted to talk further when he saw Belmovekk touch his lips.

"Anyway, I don't think Daniel Jackson was a manifestation of the First," Giles continued, "because he helped us. He claims he ascended to a higher plane of existence. That he knew what was going on."

"Then why didn't he give us a heads up?" Piccolo asked, "we could have used it."

"He said non-interference is the ascended person's creed," Giles said.

"Then how did he help you?" Piccolo asked confused, "It seems to me that helping and non-interference cancel each other out."

"Because when I left he told me not to forget the packet of powder I came back for," Giles said and pointed to the almost empty packet, "And he pointed to that one that was lying on the table between us. That was the one I used in Cleveland. Not the one I rediscovered today in my couch, where I sat when I talked to him."

"Sneaky bugger," Piccolo said appreciatively as he re-examined both packets, "he exchanged them. Subtle, very subtle."

Belmovekk opened both packets and dipped his finger in one first, then tasted it, before dipping his finger in the other and tasting that as well.

"They are different," he said as he smacked his lips, "a subtle difference, this one is more nutty."

"You think this is why the spell changed?" Piccolo asked, "Giving some powers to one girl, the rest to another?"

"It has to be," Giles said, "It's the only explanation I could think off."

x

* * *

x

"Welcome home, SG-1," General Hammond said as he welcomed the return of his elite team as they walked into his office.

"Thanks, sir" O'Neill said gloomily as he sat down in one of the chairs.

"Rough trip?" Hammond as he watched the faces of his team.

"You have no idea," O'Neill said shaking his head, then his face turned serious, "Sir, its my sad duty to report that we lost both the girl and the Saiyan. He….. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"They're both back here on Earth," the portly general said and put his hand on the phone then on a letter he picked up, "He called in yesterday to say and I quote: 'We arrived a little ahead of schedule. Anubis' demon has been destroyed, as is Anubis' current body. Expect his essence to return though as he is a crafty bugger. Sorry that we did not tell the good colonel but I wanted to spend some quality time with my new daughter. Sorry for the trouble, Belmovekk'."

Next thing Colonel O'Neill stood up, kick his chair back against the wall and left the general's office screaming and cursing, a lot of it sounding suspiciously like obscenities regarding a certain Saiyan's mother.

A flabbergasted general turned to Sam.

"What in Blaze's name happened out there, Major? I have reports coming in from the Tok'ra that interstellar war is breaking out out there. Yi is supposed to have launched a major offensive into Anubis' territory, as did Baal. Even the Sons of Priya are making a grab for territory, citing and I quote: 'Now that our prophet has shown us the way the time has come to bring truth and justice to our brethren.' There are even reported mass defections by some Jaffa who are flocking to their religion. Everybody is moving against everybody out there. "

After this outburst Sam was unsure where to begin. She looked from Jonas who looked bewildered to Teal'c who looked extremely smug.

"Well, sir…"

That evening Giles sat in his home behind his study staring at the Gypsy Prophecies again. Despite extensive study there was just no mentioning of anything of what had happened to them recently. No matter how creatively he interpreted some of the gibberish that was inside.

"This makes no sense," Giles finally said as he put down his glasses in disgust and reclined in his chair, then he closed his eyes and began to massage them, "You guys really dropped the ball on this one."

" _Of course we did,"_ a voice spoke inside his mind.

Like he was being stung by an insect Giles sat up straight.

"Is it you guys?" he asked hopeful.

" _Please, think, not speak,"_ the voice said chiding, _"now you know that They are listening."_

" _Sorry,"_ Giles thought back, _"What happened? Why did you drop the ball on us?"_

" _We were mislead,"_ the voice said apologetic, _"They weaved a very careful and elaborate ruse that fooled even us."_

That thought alone made Giles shudder. What the hell were they up against if it could fool two Galactic Necessities?

" _You are troubled?"_ the voice asked.

" _What if it happens again?"_ Giles thought, _"What if…."_

" _It won't,"_ the voice said confidently.

" _Yeah, but what if…."_

" _It won't,"_ the voice said, sounding just a tad impatient, _"We have taken steps to make sure they won't. Now that They have upped the ante, so have we."_

" _If you say so,"_ Giles replied.

" _By the way, well done,"_ the voice said approvingly, " _foiling Their plans that is."_

" _Uh, thanks,"_ Giles said, " _I can't say that it was all our own doing."_

" _We know,"_ the voice said, _"you received help. Buffy received help from the upper realm while Faith received help from the nether realm."_

This caused Giles to raise an eyebrow. He knew of the meddling by Dr. Jackson, but that Faith had received help as well was news to him.

" _The nether realm?"_ he asked curious.

" _It was a one time only thing,"_ the dry voice explained, _"do not concern you about that. But a certain Demon Lord intervened to break the psychic connection between Adam and Faith."_

" _Dear God,"_ Giles mentally exclaimed.

" _Like I said, it was a one time thing,"_ the voice continued, _"We owe him a favor. It has already been repaid."_

Again Giles shuddered as he imagined what kind of favor a Demon Lord would ask of a Cosmic Necessity.

" _What about Spike?"_ Giles asked, _"He said that you guys spoke in his mind sending him here. But Adam also said he sent Spike here. What exactly happened?"_

" _We did not speak to the vampire,"_ the voice said gruff.

" _But…. He knew that you spoke to us?"_ Giles asked bewildered, _"The voice that spoke in his mind told him so. Maybe you guys spoke to him from the future or…."_

" _We did not speak to the vampire, nor will we from the future,"_ the voice said in a tone that stood for no further argument.

" _Then how….?"_ Giles asked.

" _Well, Rupert, maybe now you finally understand what we mean by the phrase 'They listen'."_

x

* * *

x

A day minus 241

x

It was early morning when Belmovekk stood at the porch of 1630 Revello Drive and stretched out his arms, then he sat down on the couch hammock and relaxed. It was going to be a glorious day and for once he planned to do absolutely nothing.

"Look at Mister Smarty Pants," a voice laden with harmonic overtones said to his right, "All hail the butchering hero."

"Hello little worm," Belmovekk said without looking.

"You feel so proud," Amūn snorted in disgust sitting beside him on the hammock, "You killed my kind, butchered billions and even now the fall out of your action is causing interstellar war. But what do you care? You got your girl back."

"Exactly," Belmovekk said as he leaned over backwards, "I have her back, I fulfilled my promise to my wife, Anubis has been stopped, I have landed a defeat against my enemy and today the sun is shining. Today I am content."

"And the universe be damned?" Amūn said as he turned sideways to face the Saiyan, "The fact that you unleashed interstellar war means nothing to you?"

"Your people wage interstellar war at the drop of a hat," Belmovekk said as he shrugged indifferently, "They care nothing for the people they kill while doing so. They experiment on, lie to and send to their deaths trillions of their subjects and you moan to me for what I did? Get real! I would do it all over again if I had too tomorrow. Now, what are you really upset about?"

"I don't know," Amūn said as he looked away, "I feel empty. Like there was no victory."

"Sometimes living is a victory in itself," Belmovekk replied and reached for the ice tea on the table beside him, "Live for the day, cause tomorrow you may die."

Amūn let out a loud snort.

"All too fine for those who live on planet Vegeta, unfortunately for the both of us I live inside planet You."

"If you call that living," Belmovekk said sipping from his ice tea.

"Anyway," Amūn continued, "Your enemies are still out there, those Androids will still come even though your army friends searched the Initiative in vain for #13's diskey, and Anubis will probably resurface again, bigger then before."

"And then we will kill him again," Belmovekk shrugged, "Live for the moment, little worm, live for the moment."

"Are you talking to your imaginary boyfriend again?" a new voice said. Both Saiyan and Goa'uld specter looked up to see Buffy standing in the door opening.

"I'm not your boyfriend," Amūn protested as he looked at Belmovekk, "I demand that you make her stop say stuff like that."

"I think you just hurt his feelings," Belmovekk chuckled, causing Buffy to shake her head.

"I wonder what Mom would think if she knew that every time she slept with you she was having a threesome," Buffy replied, then she made an ugly face, "Ew, I don't even wanna know."

"Is there something you wanted to talk about, young lady," Belmovekk asked.

"Funny you should ask that," Buffy said and sat down in the hammock, only to look around and smile, "Oops, I hope your boyfriend didn't mind me sitting down on his lap."

"He is gone," the Saiyan said as he reached for his ice tea, "Now what do you want to talk about?"

"I've just been on the phone with Faith in her motel," Buffy said as she pointed over her shoulder in the general direction of the telephone, "Guess which who's are having dreams together again?"

Belmovekk had just taken a sip of ice tea and then sprayed it out in shock.

"Gee, I wasn't hoping for that reaction," Buffy said smiling, then her smile turned evil, "then again, this is better."

"Was it a prophetic dream?" Belmovekk asked as he put down his glass and looked for a napkin.

"No," Buffy said, "This one was different. Cause I know Willow also had the same dream as she also just called and I have a pretty good feeling Giles and Xander are also going to call any moment."

No sooner had she said those words as the phone began to rang inside.

"Belmo," Buffy asked as she looked him straight in the face, "What do you know of the First Slayer?"

Belmovekk looked at Buffy as he stopped cleaning himself. Then he stood up.

"Alright, let us get everybody, we are going on a trip."

"Whoo, road trip!" Buffy said in mock excitement, "where too?"

Belmovekk looked up into the skies.

"Kami's lookout." He said, "There is something there that I must show you."

"And that has what to do with the First Slayer?" Buffy asked as she got up from the hammock.

"Come and you shall know."

x

* * *

x

Darkness

Always with the darkness.

He hated the darkness.

He walked forward in the darkness, then a spotlight was turned on, straight on to him, blinding him.

This was why he hated the darkness.

And the spotlight of course, for it took away his cloak. Made him visible. In all his naked glory. Or ugliness, depending on your point of view.

"You have failed us," a voice boomed from the dark.

Great! They were going for 'let's play judge and jury from the dark'. How trite.

"You caused the plan to fail," the voice boomed.

"Then maybe the plan wasn't so good after all," he said back.

"Heresy!" the voice boomed in anger, "the plan was fool proof!"

"Look," he said highly annoyed, "I did exactly as I was told. I contacted Anubis and told him were to find the Majin. I told him when to expect a Slayer. I corrupted Adam's programming and caused him to take over the Initiative. I gave him the frequency for Slayer dreams and helped him devise two dreams, one for each Slayer. I helped him prepare Spike, I whispered into Spike's mind so he would go to Sunnydale. What more could I have done?"

"You should have kept better oversight," the voice boomed, "You allowed Adam to get out of control. And Anubis to fail."

"Hey," he protested, "It was you who chose these players, not me. If they weren't trustworthy then the fault lies with you for not telling me so. I can only operate based on what I know."

It was risky flipping Them off. And he wouldn't be the first to be punished for it. But bloody hell, he was getting sick of working for Them.

"You… will… punished…," the voice said with choked anger. Good, choke on it!

Then another voice spoke up.

"Jeb was not to blame. There was interference. Oma Desala, she sent her latest puppet to interfere."

The mere mention of her name caused murmur to erupt all around him. Oh, Oma Desala seemed really popular around here.

"And then there was interference from the Netherworld," the other voice spoke, "Lord Calida wanted to secure his claim to the recent dimensional realignment. He thought it would be funny to send us a message by derailing our plans."

"Goddamn demons!" the first voice boomed in disgust, "He will pay for what he did."

"He's friggin' a Demon Lord," the second voice countered, "Do you really want to mess with a Demon Lord? Stick to the plan instead. Offer him what he wants so he stops interfering. Who knows what else he could derail."

'Wise words," a third voice said, "We suffered a setback. We must learn from our mistake and make better plans. Now we have lost the Majin and Adam, but we have more irons in the fire. Anubis will rise again, Gero will unleash his androids, and there is still Him.

"Yes," a fourth voice said, He will succeed where the others failed. They do not have a clue."

"It would have been nice to have regained control of the Slayer line though," a fifth voice, a female one said slightly sad, "Before we destroy the Earth."

"We could always activate a potential elsewhere," the second voice said, "That cult that Anubis found had the right idea."

"See?" the third voice said, "Things aren't so dire yet."

Meanwhile Jeb started to back away from the light.

"Look, we're in agreement then?" he said as he stepped into the darkness, "There were mitigating circumstances and you guys seem to have everything under control. If you need me you know where to find me and…."

"Silence!" the first voice boomed, then a beam of lightning struck Jeb and caused him to fall over.

Pain! He was in such terrible pain.

"There was no need for that," the second voice said angry.

"Well, I felt like it," the first voice said snide.

"That's no reason to strike Jeb," the second voice argued, "he did what he was ordered to, as he was ordered."

"He still failed and the price for failure is death," the first voice said.

"Then maybe we should kill you as we….," the second voice said, then it faded away as it became increasingly hard for Jeb's tortured body to breathe.

And then he died.

x

* * *

x

A-day minus 240

x

With a hiss the door opened and a mist of steam escaped from the aperture. For a while nothing happened. Then a hand appeared in the door opening and it pushed the door even further open.

He had spent nearly three weeks in the auto-doc. The auto-doc was the most state of the art automated medical facility known in the world. The medical healing tanks that were on Freeza's now destroyed ship were probably better, but they didn't exist any more. If he were to market his design he would probably make a fortune. The military alone would probably make him rich beyond his wildest dreams.

But he wasn't interested in money. Money had never interested him in his entire life. Probably because he had plenty to begin with. No, money to him was just a means to an end. One that he felt that despite his last setback was now closer then ever.

Besides, despite its highly automated working the auto-doc wasn't perfect. As he stepped out the machine he still felt pain in one of his legs. Plus as he took a couple of steps he noticed that he had acquired a limp.

But it didn't matter. For he had spent his days most creatively. Already his mind was overflowing with ideas. It was good that he activated the VR mode of the auto-doc. It had allowed him to interface with his computer directly with his mind. It was such an efficient way to interact with computers. At times he toyed with the idea to install a virtual reality mode on his regular workstation. But it tended to interfere with his normal routine. Sometimes there was just no substitute for hands on tinkering.

Still, working in VR mode was a great way to theorize and quickly work out and test new ideas. And he had come upon the greatest idea in his whole career. And to make it even better, it was so simple, so elegant. So simple in fact that he lamented having wasted too much time and effort on other more complicated avenues. Such were the way of things. Great truths tend to go unnoticed because they are so simple.

As he limped into his work chamber he halted. Damn! He had forgotten that he still had a mess to clean up first. And a big mess too. Benches were broken, files strewn across the floor. The place looked like a battlefield.

Which it was in a way.

Confronted with his failure he stood there and contemplated. They seemed okay. Of course they were. He made them that way. But what to do with them? In a sense they were obsolete now.

But he never threw away anything.

Waste not, want not.

There would still be to time to see if they could be improved. Diagnostics to see where he went wrong.

At least there was one thing where he didn't went wrong. He walked to a corner of the room and picked up a small box covered in blood. His blood. It was good providence indeed that he had built it and included it in the design.

Divine providence almost. If he were a religious man. Not that he was. He had been staunchly atheist since his youth. Although one glance of the likeness of his enemy on the wall was enough for him to think that if Satan himself were to come up to him and offer him a deal against HIM he would probably sell his soul.

He put the small box on the only bench left still standing in the room. Then he turned his attention to the matter first at hand.

He lay in the other chamber, close to where the coffins where. Both theirs and the other. Frozen just in nick of time.

She on the other hand was still in his workroom. Her rebellion had come as the biggest shock. He had kind of expected that he might rebel. But her, never. She always seemed more submissive.

He knelt next to her. She was still caked in blood. His blood. Damn the bitch! She lay there like a shop window mannequin, only the gentle rise of her stomach indicating that she was still in operating mode. Alive was a term that also could be used, but by now he didn't think of them as living beings any more.

"I don't know what caused your rebellion, #18," he said as he wiped some of his dried blood off the de-activated blonde android, "Or that of your brother. Once I have some time I will get to the bottom of it. At least some good will come of it. Your successors will be a vast improvement on you two."

He wanted to grab her by the hands when he again saw the smirking face of his enemy. A giant poster on a wall taken during the last Budokai he had attended, incognito of course..

"Laugh all you want," Doctor Gero said to the likeness of his smirking enemy, "your days are numbered, Son Goku. For I will use your own power against you."


	13. EpiloguePostscript

**Epilogue**

x

x

A day

x

"So, B., how's it hanging lately?"

The two Slayers eyed each other for a moment, standing on that spot overlooking Sydney Harbor and Botany Bay. With everybody holding their breath.

Then the two girls embraced each other.

"It's been so long," Buffy smiled as she embraced her fellow Slayer.

"I know," Faith said as she returned the embrace, "Tell me you remembered to bring some…."

As the two girls began to talk like two teenage schoolgirls the other Z fighters turned away in disgust.

"Somehow I expected more from that encounter," Yamcha said dejected.

"Were you hoping for them to fight?" Tien asked, "Isn't that a little sad?"

Yamcha closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Tien buddy, I know you gays prefer to see sweaty men grapple each other, but us straight guys actually like to see two hot chicks get into a cat fight."

"I'm not gay!"

Meanwhile Krillin was back with Bulma and examined her baby.

"It doesn't have a tail," he said as he examined it's behind, "Did you cut it off?"

"I've seen enough Ozaru to last me a lifetime," Bulma replied, "I don't want little Trunks joining their ranks."

"Boy, Vegeta must have been pissed when he saw it," Xander said as he also examined the baby, "Nothing pisses a Saiyan more off then a hintercized baby."

"Actually he couldn't care less," Bulma shrugged.

"Someone's coming," Piccolo said from his vantage point overlooking Botany Bay, "I sense no malice."

"I guess that rules out Vegeta," Krillin said and winked at Xander, "he's pure malice."

"There," Gohan said and pointed to the distance where a small aircraft came in, bearing a Capsule Corp. logo on the side.

"It's Yajirobe!" Goku said excited as he came forward to greet the little guy as the small aircraft reversed thrust and landed not far from them. And indeed out came the little fat guy, bearing his sword and a grumpy look.

"I see I made it in time," the little guy muttered.

"Are you coming to fight?" Goku asked excited, causing the little guy to frown.

"Did they drop you on your head again?" he said, then threw a small bag towards him, "Here, compliments of Master Carrin."

"Great, senzu beans," Goku said as he looked in the bag, then he looked at his friends, "Don't you just love the guy?"

"Now if you excuse me," Yajirobe said as he strapped himself back into the jet, "I have an elsewhere to be. Preferably as far away from here as possible."

"Are you sure you don't want to fight," Goku asked disappointed, but the little guy was unyielding.

"Unlike you idiots I don't want to die," Yajirobe said, then he closed the canopy and the jets engine roared again and lifted the jet into the sky, where he hauled full ass away from here.

Tien was the first to speak up again.

"They're late," he said and looked at Belmovekk, "Do you think all your shenanigans caused a change in the timeline?"

"Considering the stunts he pulled I wouldn't be surprised if they showed up in New York instead," Piccolo said.

"I am right here, you know," Belmovekk said.

"Good, then I don't need to repeat myself," the mighty Namek said and returned his gaze to Sydney harbor.

"Wouldn't that be a hoot?" Xander chuckled, "We're all here outside of Sydney on the 11th of September, 2001 and the real action would happen in New Yo…"

"XANDER!" two Slayers and a sorceress yelled, "Don't jinx it!"

"Guys, relax," Yamcha said as he looked at his watch, "the guy said around ten o'clock. It's only 10:17. I'd say that's still aroundish."

"Maybe they're already here," Xander said, "Watching us. Studying our every move."

"Mr. Sunshine speaks again," Faith said shaking her head, "How _do_ you get up in the morning?"

"If they're like the others there's no chi," Krillin said aghast, "Nothing to sense…."

"Trust me," Yamcha said as he winked at Xander and Buffy, "Just because you can't sense them doesn't mean you can't take them apart."

"Perhaps," Piccolo said wistfully and looked out over the city of Sydney, "But where the hell are they?"

x

x

THE END

Or

To be continued in Part 4 Cell

(Cue dramatic music)

x

 **Climbing up the walls**

Radiohead, album: OK Computer

Lyrics: Tom Yorke

 _I am the key to the lock in your house, that keeps your toys in the basement_

 _And if you get to far inside, you'll only see my reflection_

 _It's always best when the light's off, I am the pick in the ice_

 _Do not cry or hit the alarm, we are friends till we die_

 _And either way you turn, I'll be there_

 _Open your skull, I'll be there_

 _Climbing up the walls_

 _It's always best when the light is off, it's always better on the outside_

 _Fifteen blows to the back of your head, fifteen blows to your mind_

 _So lock the kids in safe tonight, and put the eyes in the cupboard_

 _I've got the smell of a local man, who's get the loneliest feeling_

 _And either way you turn, I'll be there_

 _Open your skull, I'll be there_

 _Climbing up the walls_

 _Climbing up the walls_

 _Climbing up the walls_

 _Climbing up the walls_

x

* * *

x

 **Postscript/Appendix**

x

x

Postscript

x

Yes!

Another part done!

Yeah me!

It has taken me the longest case of writers block to finish this story. But thanks to Shadowmaster's input I managed to get back on the rails. And I like to think it came out okay.

x

* * *

x

Continuity

I'm glad I wrote most of the story in one go as it constantly kept changing in its details, although not in the big outline. What I thought was disappointing in the conclusion of part 2B was that there was little forewarning that Aldur would come to save the day. Had that story been thought out and written in one go I would have added a forewarning already in chapter one.

Henceforth the Slayer dreams in this part. Originally there was no dream for Buffy, she just tagged along after Belmo because she wanted to. Well, because I wanted her out of the way so Faith could shine. But that didn't make a lot of sense. So the Slayer dreams were born. And then they got a little out of hand and before I knew it they were crucial. Rewrite city!

x

* * *

x

Timing

As you may have noticed this story jumps around a lot in its time. One of the reason I used the A-day minus timer. Although not the main reason (cause I liked it). Originally one idea was to have the whole story told as a series of flashbacks, with each chapter starting there in Botany Bay and then, bam, Flashback city! Chapter one was already written that way.

Then writers block set in and real life followed suit. At one time I was even busy with four bands at the same time, going on tour with one of them as a sound engineer. But once I got going again, it went fast, chapters coming out once every two weeks.

By that time however the whole flashback thing had stopped. And the smart thing to do was to end the story with Gero coming out of his healing machine. Chronologically it would have made more sense. But I started the story with the flashback so I felt it had to end back where it had originally started. Out there in Botany Bay.

x

* * *

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Canon

Now in case you're wondering, hang on, good story, but some of these characters are acting a little out of character. That's not how I remember them from the shows, well, firstly, that's writers prerogative. My story, I can make them do as I see fit. Be glad I did not engage in Xander/Spike slash.

Secondly, I stopped watching Buffy episodes or DBZ a long time ago so I'm operating mostly from memories and summaries. I find that not watching episodes helps me to deviate from canon (the purpose after all of crossover) far better. When I was writing part 1 and the beginning of part 2B I was still watching a lot of Buffy episodes and it caused me to rewrite episodes a lot more then making my own stories. Once I stopped watching episodes I gained more freedom. Unfortunately, it probably also caused some of the characters to act a little different. But then again I'd like to think that as these characters experience different things, their characters change in different ways as well. Xander in particular I wanted to change from a happy go lucky character into a guy who still cracked jokes to keep the others' spirits up, but deep down underneath he was anything but a happy camper. Becoming a fatalist.

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Breakout characters

Sometimes you start writing a story and a character comes along and he grabs you by the throat and demands more time on stage. Amūn was such a character in part 2A, creating his own story in the process. And Giles and Daniel Jackson of course. , Xander, Angela and Ferucca did so in part 2B. There were no real breakout characters in this part, although Jonas Quinn did for a while (I know he's become his own TV Trope as the poor replacement for a beloved character, but I always liked the character way more then Daniel Jackson). Faith's always good at grabbing more attention, but that's deliberate on my part. Not because she's a particular favorite of mine but because I feel the story shouldn't constantly be about Belmo, Buffy and Xander. And I think Adam was a minor breakout character of course, who demanded he became more then just a pawn in the Galactic chess game

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Thanks

I would like to thank Shadowmaster (I'm hot on your heels now!) for helping me get back on track. 3Dmaster and jKal for having inspired me to write in the first place. And of course I would like to dedicate this story to the late David Eddings who has gone to the great writers club in the afterlife. Write some good jokes for Kaio Sama! He needs them!

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Postscript II (2017)

Having some health issues and not much to do I finally began to re-read my old stories and noticed insane amounts of spelling errors and missing words. And the occasional f*** up. I know that I have this mild speech disorder where I sometimes switch words around, but I'm starting to think it's affecting my writing as well. So I decided to clean up my stories, add the odd line here and there. Nothing major was changed except for the original ending in the epilogue. Which had the Androids blow up Yajirobe's VTOL after having delivered the beans, just like in canon. Of course in the next part I totally ignored that as I wrote that everybody had been waiting for almost the entire day because nothing was happening. Oops! Foul up! Also some details of the anti-Majin alliance were changed to bring them more in line with certain revelations from the next part. Instead of the Majin being the cause of the great alliance between the four races it's now the last alliance between the four before the last of the Ancients disappeared from the galactic scene.

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 **Appendix**

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By now you should know what this means, right?

Powah levels!

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Well, not much changing at this point. Everybody has the same power really throughout this story. So I'll just give you the powah levels as they are at the start.

And yes, careful calculations are at the heart of these figures. No asspulling took place.

Honest!

Buffy start S4

221187

Xander start S4

131129

Willow start S4

200

Faith

335715

Riley

1526

Spike

200000

Angel

8099

Oz

9630

Were Oz

38522

Yup, they're that far.

I don't think I ever created a level for Adam. Nor do I think it matters really. He's just stronger then either of these characters. With his naquadria reactor as a booster of course. ;)

If there are any more questions, feel free to ask.

Peace!


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